


Two Faced

by 3tno



Category: Shenmue
Genre: Aggression, Awkward Conversations, Complicated Relationships, Denial, Dominance, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fighting kink?, Fluff and Angst, Friends With Benefits, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Sensuality, Sexual Inexperience, Unresolved Sexual Tension, semi-au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-02-13 17:50:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21498094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3tno/pseuds/3tno
Summary: If you've been a RenxRyo shipper for as long as I have, you've may have read Two Faced on FFnet, but that may be presumptuous. Maybe you didn't. I wanted to import it here with more content, and the hopes that I'll be able to update it more since Shenmue III is out! (and yes, it's been updated now.)--Ryo and Ren have a strange relationship, one may call it frenemies or love/hate. Despite the angle, it's clear to see that Ren cares for Ryo, and Ryo has some sort of respect for him.Here, we drive through the confusing thoughts and feelings of the two. Are they just reluctant rivals bordering on friendship... Or is it something more?No matter how things may seem, Ren finds himself making any excuse to stay at Ryo's side... But does Ryo truly want him there?(The future content of this fic is not entirely known, ratings may change. If you're looking for angst and conflicting feelings, you've found it.)Updating for Shenmue III: Chapter 6 out now! Chapter 7 planned for future.
Relationships: Ren Wuying/Ryo Hazuki, Ryo Hazuki/Guizhang Chen(hinted), Ryo Hazuki/Shenhua Ling (hinted)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 46





	1. "Don't Get So Touchy."

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter was written in November 2019 in hopes of breaking mid-Nanowrimo writer's block, the second chapter is the original fic written in 2015 from FFnet...  
Also you can find me on Tumblr as Chiyoumen, all my RenxRyo antics, theories, art, and edits are also posted there. I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Chapter note: There was a moment where Ren kicks Ryo out in front a guard that’s surveying the halls. Ren then pops out and attacks the man, knocking him out. Ryo then scolds Ren for putting him in that position, but Ren plays it off by teasing him. I want to take that further, so it spirals, fitting this deleted scenario into it. This will play off the headcanon that Ren is an orphan. This was written after the original Two Faced, but set before.

Sneaking through the halls of the Yellow Head Building wasn’t the most dangerous thing neither Ren nor Ryo have faced before - but that didn’t make the situation any less tense. After being handcuffed together for days and chased by criminal upon criminal, ducking in and out of places they shouldn’t be, this still felt like more than that. They were finally on to something more than chasing the ever-burning trail of Yuanda Zhu and Lan Di… Unaware that they’d soon be facing some of their greatest fears. But first, they had to find their way, and deal with the seemingly never ending amount of guards prowling the dilapidated halls.

…And that last part wasn’t exactly exciting. 

While Ryo had pushed Ren back, Ren disregarded his need to keep themselves hidden and peeked out around the corner anyway. Around the crates just over the corner of the hall, he caught sight of a guard heading their way and took a defensive stance - moving back behind Ryo. Ryo was ready to fight, but suppressed any kind of a sound when he felt a boot met his lower back. Ryo stumbled, catching himself and glaring back at Ren. Ren gestured his hands together in almost a punching motion, as if telling him to fight the damn guy. 

Ryo turned his attention to the surprised guard. While Ryo was about to defend himself, Ren flew forward, flanking the guard’s side with a kick, then another and another to his face and neck - effectively knocking him out. 

Ryo, with a snarl, turned toward Ren, shouting his name and catching the man’s attention. Ren kept his eyes on the unconscious guard for a moment longer before looking to Ryo, shifting his weight to his other foot. His nonchalant reaction only fueled Ryo’s irritation. 

“I was getting bored.” Was Ren’s defense.   


“You-” Ryo’s voice trailed off, and all he could do was glare at Ren. It was taking everything in him not to do something stupid to his ‘friend.’ He was afraid of this situation ahead, unable to keep grounded in reality over his nerves - despite his usually stoic demeanor…  


Ren faced him completely, allowing his body language to go slack, but he raised his chin in superiority to his comrade, “I was only having some fun.” There was nothing on Ryo’s face that made Ren believe he would actually lash out - especially when neither of them were hurt… But the younger man was still pouting like a brat, “Don’t get so touchy.”

Ryo clenched his fists. Something more than just anger fluttered in his core upon the meeting of their eyes, something mimicking the heat - but not the pain, “Stop fooling around-”

But Ren stepped closer. His stance was nowhere near intimidating, the way he languidly pulled closer and lingered his face near Ryo’s. Ryo was unaware of how quickly his chest was rising and falling… and it was not with as much anger as he initially believed. Ryo stared at Ren, not quite realizing that Ren had paused, looking directly at his lips. Their breaths mingled for only a moment, and Ren knew he had to pull away. He made his way around Ryo with a spin, and Ryo’s eyes widened when he realized how close he had just been.   
Ren just had to say something to push away that feeling of closeness - and Ryo’s attempt at being intimidating. 

“Oooo! I’m so scared!” Ren taunted, keeping his head down as he continued down the hall.   


Ryo couldn’t calm down, and turning around to follow Ren was a mistake. The moment his eyes set on the back of Ren’s jacket, black ponytail bouncing with each step… he couldn’t resist the urge to jeer at him. 

“You’re like a child.” Ryo stated, keeping his usual stoic tone.  


“Am not.” Ren scoffed, turning to look back at Ryo over his shoulder, and Ryo took that brief pause of his to walk past him. Ren kept his eyes on him, “You’re the kid here. You wouldn’t even give up one of those stupid little toys for that orphan kid. So not only are you a kid - you’re a _selfish _kid!”  


“As if you’re any different.” Ryo grumbled as Ren tried to catch up with him, “And I didn’t have any of them on me.”  


“Please!” Ren scoffed, gesturing grandly behind Ryo, “you know you stopped to get more just before we snuck in.”  


“Did not.”  


Ren rushed forward and dug a hand into Ryo’s jacket pocket, causing him to cry out and try to push him away. Ren didn’t hesitate to yank out a small _NiGHTS into Dreams_ figure when he felt it. Ren laughed and took several steps back as Ryo attempted to pursue him. 

“See!” Ren snickered, holding it up into Ryo’s view, causing him to stop in his tracks mid-stride.   


“That… That was already in there from before.” Ryo protested.   


“Uh-huh.” Ren snorted, shoving the toy in his pants pocket before pointing to Ryo, “Yoooouuu _lied_.”  


Ryo groaned and turned around, deciding that this just wasn’t with the effort. 

But Ren scowled at his reaction, following him quickly, “What, you don’t want it back?”

“We don’t have time for this.” Ryo stated bluntly, knuckles turning white from the tension as he stormed ahead.   


“Hey.” Ren tried to catch his attention, and failed, “Hey!”   


He raced after Ryo and caught him by the shoulder. The audacity of this guy, really! Ren already knew Ryo could only take a certain amount of teasing before taking things way too seriously, but he didn’t actactly care to remedy the situation. Ryo really needed to lighten up already! If he didn’t, he was going have a heart attack before he could even face Lan Di. 

“Hey-” Ren repeated, yanking at Ryo’s jacket collar once he caught up to him.  


Ryo turned and batted his hand away, growling a little at him, “Enough-”

“You can’t keep being so serious all the time!” Ren sneered at him, “Damn, did you even laugh as a kid?”  


“We don’t have time for-”  


“What, facing that you have no emotions other than, gee-” Ren stood taller, mocking Ryo with stiff shoulders, a monotone expression and blank voice, “I’m Ryo Hazuki. I must find Lan Di. My dad was strict and never told any jokes so now I’m super serious all the time and I must avenge his death.”  


Ryo stared at Ren with discontent and malice, a frown peaking at his lips. Ren knew he’d gone too far.

Right up until Ryo responded, “At least I had a father.”

There was only so much worse Ryo could have said, the way that Ren’s features softened and fell made Ryo’s heart sink. In that instant of sheer reckless stupidity between the two, Ren swung his arm – backhanding Ryo on his scarring cheek. He didn’t try to hit him as hard as he could, but he was still lashing out. Ryo didn’t even think, and found his hands grasping at the lapels of Ren’s jacket. Ren groaned at the impact of his back hitting the wall… But he knew he deserved it, and Ryo’s expression told him some tale of remorse. Neither of them knew what the Hell they were doing… and they realized that rather quickly. 

Ren’s eyes darted over Ryo’s face, studying the soft features of his skin - only for him to dart them away when he realized Ryo was doing the same. Suddenly this harsh pinning to the wall was no longer the end to an attack, and had turned into… what could be considered intimate. 

“Ehh…” Ren grimaced, keeping his gaze averted as he felt Ryo’s warm breath across his jaw and neck, “Can’t take that back, huh?”  


“It wouldn’t make a difference now. For either of us.” Ryo stated plainly as ever, clenching the lapels of Ren’s jacket again. 

Ren sighed, even just that slight pressure against his chest made him release a shiver he couldn’t bear. He reached up to place his hand on Ryo’s wrist with the intention of prying his hand away - but instead, it simply lingered, just as their faces did, only inches apart. 

Both of them were too stubborn to outright apologize in this bizarre relationship. They were… stuck. Unsure how to proceed. But at this point it was far more than just a reckless abandon in their anger - no, it was far more than that… And neither of them wanted to acknowledge how close they’d been pulled together, 

“Are you gonna move?” Ren asked rather simply, voice rough. His statement could have been taken in multiple ways.

Ryo didn’t answer, he only released Ren’s collar, slowly. Yet, he stayed put, keeping their same intimate distance. Ren felt a sting of disappointment, but he wasn’t about to say anything about it. Ryo was stupid, they were both stupid. They was nothing he could do about the way that touch made him feel - nothing he wanted to acknowledge at least. Except try to make him feel that same sting of disappointment he just felt… If he could feel anything at all, the bastard.

“At least you fight like a man.” Ren snorted, doing as he initially intended and making light of the situation. 

“You fight like a drunkard.”

“I’ll take _that _as a compliment.” Ren said with a smirk and tilt of his head, pressing his hand to Ryo’s chest to push him back a little, but kept a grip on his jacket. He stepped forward, having pushed Ryo back just to move closer and take him under his own control - pulling him closer again, “Let’s just hope you’re enough to beat Lan Di.”

Ryo’s eyes narrowed, some minor redness creeping across his cheeks. He was so close again. Ren knew what he was doing, and Ryo didn’t want to admit that any of his suspicions were true. The way Ren smirked and grazed his hand against his chest made Ryo internally beg for himself to pull away - but also for Ren to continue with the pursuit of his oddly affectionate gestures. Although he initially found Ren’s teasing and cockiness to be insufferable, on some level, they understood each other more than they realized, and it brought them closer. 

But Ren released a chuckle, blazing straight past Ryo and the argument they just had as if that bout of fear, recklessness, and rage, had never existed. They did not need to speak forgiveness, they merely accepted it. Ryo didn’t want to question anything deeper than what was necessary to get to his goal… But of course, how was that different from any other time? But… Ren could handle himself, and was too damn stubborn to be pushed away. He doubt it would last long, Ren would move on once he realized there was nothing more to gain from him. Ryo was sure of that.

As Ren moved away, lifting his arms up to walk in a leisure manner with his arms behind his head, Ryo could only watch and follow. Neither of them wanted to admit that the fluttering in their stomachs and the warmth buzzing in their veins wasn’t just anxiety due to the battle ahead. 


	2. "Heads or Tails?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The original first chapter for Two Faced, written in 2015. I've made a couple of edits for brevity and character adjustment. But not many. Hope you enjoy!

It was just for the money.

That was what Ren told himself.

The more he said it, the thinner the lie became, and he came increasingly close to terms with the fact it was, in fact, a lie. Yeah, he could tell women fawned over Ryo. Often, it seemed. Even Joy, his own… Well, he wasn't exactly sure what they were. Friends with benefits, he guessed. Either way, Ryo barely had any reaction.

The more Ren showed up unannounced, the more he tried to convince himself out loud, the more looks of doubt he received. He had gotten soft. He had to show he was still in charge. Constantly.

"Damn…" He grumbled, carving mindless doodles into the table with his knife, "Idiot…" For once he was talking about himself.

Ryo would be gone the next day. What was he going to do about it? He had obligations and people to take care of. He had a gang to run. He had spent enough time off with Ryo as it was, using the money excuse. Yeah, it did turn out his instinct was right. Treasures of the Qing Dynasty. Damn. He had fallen right into money's lap– and right into the tunnels of his personal Hell simultaneously.

He pushed himself up from his seat at the table, beginning to pace about his small hideout. He looked to the small brown couch, remembering how Ryo would sometimes mumble in his sleep. Nozomi this. Father that. Lan Di blah blah blah. But when about him, huh? He kept an ear out for his name, but he only mentioned him once, then something about a broken lamp. Not what he was hoping for.

"Stupid…" Ren groaned, slamming his gloved fist against a cracked wall. He turned to the sound of the door being opened, faced with the problem directly.

"Ren?" Ryo's voice was typically monotone, yet softer than usual.

"What?" He had to be assertive. His heart fluttered. Every time he said his damn name. He needed to prove this boy had no effect on him. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

"Are you alright?"

Was he alright? -Was he alright?- In the list of many things he was in that moment, alright was not among them.

"What a dumb question."

"I was just checking." Ryo averted his gaze, heading towards the couch to sit, across the room from Ren, whose eyes followed his every move.

"Whatever." Ren turned his head, long black hair caught on his jacket for a short moment.

Ryo resumed ignoring him, taking out his journal from his bag, glazing over it like he was studying for a test. Ren rolled his eyes. Ryo was basically a school boy– past the boy with the cool demeanor, man thirsty for revenge, martial artist, and the gacha figurine collecting dork.

Ren's nostril's flared as he grimaced slightly, reaching up to undo his hair from his usual pony tail. It was late, he needed sleep.

He shook his head, letting the long black locks fall past his shoulders to his chest.

"…Ren?"

He looked up as he began to remove his gloves, "huh?"

Ryo happened to be caught in his gaze, but forced his eyes the other way, "…Nothing."

"You're so weird." Ren clicked his tongue, smirking as he teased the younger man, who, as usual, barely responded.

"I just haven't seen you with your hair down."

"Eh?" His brows furrowed, looking to Ryo again, whose eyes locked with his.

"You should keep it down more often."

"It gets in the way."

"Why not cut it, then?"

"Shut up. I like it long."

"You're so strange."

He was strange? HE was strange? Ren tripped over his own tongue for a moment, lost on how to respond, he threw his gloves on the table, "Sh-shut up."

And for once, he swore Ryo smiled at him.

"Stop that."

"Hm?"

"Stop smiling. You don't smile."

"Since when?"

"Man, I don't know." Ren sighed, "You're usually just so… Melancholy."

"Melancholy?"

"Yeah. Are you depressed or somethin'? Or just too determined?"

Ryo looked away suddenly, he seemed to zone out, staring at nothing.

"Hey." Ren rose his brows, reviewing no response. He groaned quietly and walked forward, sitting next to him on the couch, which seemed to surprise him.

"Ren."

"Yeah?"

Ryo turned to look away once again, moving forward and away from Ren's arms as they naturally spanned out across the top of the couch.

"…C'mon." Ren smirked, moving to lean forward, placing a hand on Ryo's shoulder, "Talk."

"Huh?"

"Talk. You know. Words. Sentences. String words together to express something?"

"Ren…" Ryo seemed to be irritated.

Ren grinned, throwing a soft playful punch at the boy's arm, he couldn't bare to think of actually hurting him with how far they had come, "It's a joke, kid."

"You keep calling me kid. Yet, you're only a year older than me."

"Yeah, and?"

"You always need to be in control, don't you?"

"Can't control you, kid." He sighed and reclined back against the couch again, "That's what I love about ya."

"Love… About me?"

Ren screamed internally, slowly looking to see Ryo staring at him with a bemused expression.

"Uh. Yeah." Ren cleared his throat, trying to fight the blush that spread across his cheeks only caused him to become more flustered, "Am I not allowed I admire things about people?"

"You said love, not admire." Ryo turned his body to face him better, "So, we -are- friends then?"

"Right…" Ren focused on something else, "Friends. I guess. Whatever."

Ryo seemed to notice his hesitation, "…Ren."

"Do you have some weird fascination with saying my name? Geeze…" Ren grumbled, moving to stand, only for his wrist to be caught firmly by the younger man, "…The hell?"

Ryo stood, meeting him eye to eye, "You didn't mean it in a friendly manner, did you?"

"Of course I did." Ren scoffed, irritated with his own reactions, "Man, what else could I mean?"

"I don't know." Ryo tilted his head slightly, "That's why I'm asking."

"Don't you think you've had enough control over my wrist, boy?" He gritted his teeth, recalling the incident with the handcuffs. He had saved them for no good reason, yet they came in handy confronting Yuan. He didn't get to use them the way he hoped.

"Hmm…" Ryo lifted Ren's wrist, pulling him closer, studying the look in his eyes, but only forcing his face to grow red once again.

"The hell you doin?"

"You're hiding something."

"Since when am I not hiding something?" He gave a bitter smirk.

"You have a point." He dropped his wrist, "I don't know how you always get things to go your way."

"Ha." That was an absurd reduction, "If things were to go _my_ way you would be staying here."

Why did he say that…?

"What?"

"Shit." Ren turned from him abruptly, kicking a chair shortly after the silence began. Ryo watched him as he rested his head against the wall.

"Ren. I have to go to Bailu Village."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Damn…" Ren pushed off with energy, turning to face him again, clearly frustrated, and flustered, "How do ya do it, huh?"

"Do what?"

"You're so damn determined to get revenge on Lan Di– you don't even care about the effects it has on the people that dare give a damn about you." He growled, "Joy's constantly worried sick, and I don't know how, but you're like an older brother to Wong."

Ryo stared at the ground, "Ren…"

"You may not think it has an effect on me. Of all people. But it does damn it!" Ren rushed forward, slamming his hands on the table, across from Ryo, "and what about that Nozomi chick– or that Xuiying lady or what ever her name was…"

"I didn't ask to be cared about. I didn't ask you to get involved…" Ryo stopped him in his tracks, suddenly even more serious, "I'm thankful, Ren. I am. I don't know where I would be without everyone's help. But I didn't ask for it."

Ren groaned loudly, beginning to shout, pulling off and throwing his bandana at him, "You can't expect to be so damn passionate about something, and not expect people to fall for you!"

"Fall for me…?"

"Damn it!" Ren darted from his side of the table and around to the other, gripping Ryo's jacket collar and pulling him forward, their faces close as they could feel one another's breath, "I'm gettin' tired of you playing dumb!"

Ren found his wrists being grabbed again, but rather than being pushed like he expected, Ryo's hands simply wrapped around them.

"Go with me to Guilin."

"What?" Ren barely whispered, astounded.

"Come with me."

"No, I..." He shook his head, "I've got obligations here and in Wan Chai."

"Yet you've spent the last few weeks with me."

"I smelled money. I was right. I no longer need to trail you around. We've got Zhu, and you can find the mirror and get to Lan Di– not exactly in that order–"

"Ren."

"Augh." Ren leaned forward, his head falling against Ryo's shoulder, "Stop sayin' my name like that. Geeze."

"Ren…"

"I said stop." His head shot up, "I'm warning you, kid."

Ryo cracked a smirk, "…Ren."

Ren seethed, pulling at Ryo's jacket again, this time placing his lips upon his. Ryo's hands found his waist, pulling him even closer, clumsy arms finding their way around Ryo's neck, shaky hands in his spiked hair.

Without warning, Ryo wrapped his arms around Ren, lifting him up, only to sit him down on the table, knocking the recorder to floor with a plastic crackle.

Ren parted from him, catching his breath, "You're gonna buy me a new one of those right?"

Ryo smiled, placing his forehead to Ren's, "Yeah."

It took mere seconds before they were once again entangled in a deep kiss, refusing to think about anything else. Ren felt his back pressed against the table, Ryo just above him, his hands gripping at his long black hair. Ren groaned when he pulled, forcing them to part for a brief moment.

"Hah. You like to play rough." Ren chuckled, brushing his hands past the fabric of his jacket to dig his nails into his sides, receiving a groan in response, "Can't say I'm surprised."

When Ryo moved to kiss him again, he ended up knocking the lamp off the table with his forearm.

"Dumbass…" Ren sighed, propping his elbows against the table to hold his weight as Ryo stood, "Always breakin' things."

"Sorry." Ryo rose a brow at him, watching his lips curl into a smirk once again, "You're just as bad."

"Yeah, but I do it for a livin'."

"Right…"

Ren sighed, pausing for a long moment, trying to find words to say.

"You're leavin' tomorrow. You know you're gonna miss me."

"Is that so…?"

"You'll come back." He sat up, "You've got to."

"Ren…"

"Promise me, kid."

"What?"

"Promise you won't die. You better come back. Or I will find you. I swear I will track you down and bring you back–"

"I promise."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

Ren jumped down from the table, keeping his eyes glued to the floor, "Well. Lan Di ain't merciful. I mean I've seen you fight, kid." He looked up with a grin, "Let's hope you can get there without me."

"I think I'll manage." Ryo's brows furrowed, "Some how."

"You've got guts. But you're still weak with your street smarts."

"That's because I'm not a thug."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm not."

"Keep tellin' yourself that."

They became silent again.

Ren sighed, deciding to force himself to move on, they could figure it out in the morning, it was much later than he anticipated staying up, "I'm goin' to bed."

"Oh. Good night, Ren."

"Yeah yeah."

– – –

When Ren woke up, Ryo was already preparing to leave. He kept silent, ghosting past him to pick up his bandana and gloves from the table. It seemed to be late afternoon, and Ryo had already replaced both his lamp and his recorder.

"So you're actually going huh…?" Ren's voice cracked, forcing him to clear his throat as he pulled his hair up into his usual tight pony tail.

"Of course." Ryo stood, tossing his bag over his shoulder.

"Were you gonna leave without saying good-bye?"

"…hm. " Ryo avoided his gaze.

"Not surprised." He chuckled dryly, silently sauntering over to him.

"Ren…"

Ren tilted his head, their eyes catching as Ryo looked up to him, "I suppose we're both confused, right?"

He simply nodded.

"Well uh." Ren cleared his throat, "Shit…"

"…you can still come with me, Ren."

"No. I can't." His expression became stern, "Who knows, though. Maybe I will be forced to go out and find ya. Samurai in shining armor, I'll even ride in in a valiant steed!"

"Fine. Heads or tails."

"What?"

"Flip a coin. Tails, you come with me, heads, we part here."

"That's stupid! You don't wanna do this. Trust me."

"Why?" Ryo's grimaced.

Ren groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, contemplating for a moment. He knew he couldn't go with him. He wanted to, but he just knew this was a journey Ryo would have to go on alone. With every last drop of willpower Ren had, he reached into his back pocket to retrieve his endgame result. He looked to the coin in his hand and gripped it as he looked up to Ryo, who was clearly hoping for the answer he'd never receive.

With the toss of the coin in the air, partially to their side, Ren rushed forward, embracing Ryo to share a bittersweet kiss, he reached out an caught the coin without removing his lips from his for a moment, lingering as long as he could before Ryo pulled away, desperate for the unchanged answer.

Ren opened his hand, revealing heads face up to their view, his expression stale. Ryo's eyes faltered, face returning to its melancholy state. Silently, he shifted his bag and turned away, heading to the door.

"Hey." Ren stopped him with a single word, "keep your promise to me."

"…I will, Ren."

Ren's bitter smile was unseen as Ryo opened the door, passing Joy and Wong on the way.

"Is– is he leaving already?" Joy turned to Ren, who simply nodded.

"He can't leave without saying goodbye!" Wong cried out as Ryo had already ascended the stairs.

"Well, catch up with him then!" Ren smirked, grabbing Joy by the shoulder before she could rush after him.

"Hey!"

"Shut up. Give him these. Tell him they're from me."

Ren reached into his pocket again, pulling out another coin. A double headed coin and a double tailed coin made their way to Joy's hand, who only nodded and ran off.

He quickly returned to his hideout, taking a seat in the wooden chair, propping his legs up into the table.

"Guilin… Treasures of the Quin dynasty…" He let out a dry laugh, flicking his knife from his side, and flinging it at the map on the wall… directly marking Bailu Village itself, "This is getting interesting…"

Of course he didn't agree to go with Ryo.

He was used to showing up unannounced.


	3. Inseparable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither of them expected their reunion to be so... Bleak. Distance had given them both false expectations and changes in perception. The contact high had faded, and so had their victories. 
> 
> Ren keeps his stead fast desire for treasure, and Ryo keeps his desire for justice, and peace. The conflict lay in their want for one another... Of which they both further deny. 
> 
> But, Ren knows he needs Ryo to reach his goals, whether he cared about him or not... Their disappointing reunion left them both feeling raw.
> 
> What happens when he eavesdrops, and finds how Ryo speaks about him to other people?
> 
> What happens when he hears him flirting with another man?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooo boy, welcome to the Shenmue III update! Can't believe it's been four years since I started this fic after playing Shenmue II again. 
> 
> There is, of course, major spoilers for Shenmue III from this point on. Future chapters are planned, and will hopefully make it out as I replay the game again. You can follow potential progress on my chiyoumen.tumblr page. 
> 
> This chapter is based on Ren's first scene, which was far more mundane than I expected. But it gave me something to work with, so here we are. It also involved the scene after they meet, where Ryo talks to Shenhua about him, and then calling some people, since I had the international calling card. There are gaps between Ren and Ryo seeing each other, so I figured I may as well fill them with... Angst and conflict and other fun things. Hehehe.
> 
> The next chapter will likely be mostly original scenes, based between one and another, rather than just based around another canon scene. Hoping the have a balance between the two 
> 
> Major thanks to everyone who's commented, left kudos, and sent asks me on Tumblr about this, or generally read this and supported in any way. Your support keeps this alive and I greatly appreciate it! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

**Inseparable**

"He really liked you, didn't he?"

Honestly, he wasn't so sure about Joy's observation. Whenever he was around Ren, there was a palpable tension. The kiss they shared, the memories... The moment he felt strongest was at the top of the yellow head building, Ren's hand upon his shoulder, staring off into the sunset sky as Lan Di got away. He felt nearly defeated when Lan Di had escaped. But there was much more in that moment. He felt so close - like he could truly accomplish finding his father's killer.

And now... He was beginning to feel more alone than ever. While his relationship with Shenhua had grown, and he felt safe with her, she was... Comfortable. He didn't know how else to put that. She was innocent, and he was scared of her seeing more of the world than necessary - but she'd made her choice to follow him. He couldn't blame her for wanting to save her father... And he absolutely wanted to help. She was by no means weak, but she was quite naive. 

Ren following him to China was something he'd anticipated, but he hadn't allowed himself to think on it too much. What if he hadn't shown up? He couldn't let himself feel that disappoinment.

But he had shown up.

"Is that really all I get!?"

Ryo's heart practically punched through his chest when he heard that abrasive voice slice through the crowds and busy vendors.  
Ryo saw him the moment he turned the corner and did not hesitate to approach. 

"THIS much." Ryo watched him gesture a large amount, "THIIIS much."

"Ren-" he tried to push through Ren's argument with the vendor.

Finally, he was here again. But he didn't turn around. He was just shouting about noodles and how stingy the vendor was being... This wasn't surprising. 

"Ren!" Ryo needed to be heard. 

Ren turned and face him, his heart leaping in frustration over the situation, words slipping from his lips because he did not want this to happen now, "Oh, for crying out loud!" 

Play it cool, play it cool. You didn't follow him across China only out of worry. Right, money. That was the main reason, duh. Screw any other reason, honestly. It was the truth, just... Not the whole truth.

"What are you doing here?" Ryo asked, as if he hadn't known Ren would follow him all along.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Ren gestured to the stand multiple times, "I'm buying some chow mein!"

Ryo glared, "This is no time for jokes."

Ren drew his hands up, taking a step back, that scowl always made his heart skip, "Oh, there you go with that scary face again." 

Ryo stepped closer, grabbing Ren's full attention, at least for a moment, "What the hell are you doing in Niaowu?"

'_Say it_,' Ryo plead internally, '_say you actually care for once, damn it._'

Ren stared at him for a moment, and the smirk that grew on Ren's face made Ryo scared to hear what he was about to say. 

"You remember hearing Zhu Yuanda's story back in Kowloon?" Ren wagged his finger upward, and as he finished his statement, he couldn't bear to keep looking at Ryo, and darted his eyes away. Focus on anything else.

Ryo glared instantly, "About what?"

'_Please don't say treasure,_' Ryo thought, but it was cut off by exactly what he didn't want.

"Treasure!"

'_Bastard_.' he internally replied, glaring a little.

"I'm talking about treasure!" Ren hissed, briefly raising his fist to him to prove his sure, rock-steady stance on exactly what he was after. But he couldn't look at Ryo anymore, or that rock wall of a facade may crumble. So he turned away, unable to avoid the tension when Ryo lingered closer despite his move away, "The scent is so strong I can practically smell it..."

Ryo sighed, turning his head to stare at the ground. Ren really wasn't as good as he'd built him up to be. In the end, Ryo didn't give a damn about treasure. He wanted vengeance, justice, and eventually peace, and while he had thought Ren cared about that - he very clearly didn't.

"You..." Ryo's voice dropped, trailing off.

He shouldn't have been surprised. 

Ren looked back to him, brow raising at Ryo's sudden downcast appearance. Damn. It worked. Ryo couldn't see through anything.

Ren stretched his arms back in the most nonchalant manner he could, deciding that he really didn't want to deal with the after math of this encounter. It wasn't his fault that Ryo showed up unexpectedly, he wasn't prepared! And now the kid was upset. Whatever. Ryo could handle himself.

"I'm gonna walk around some more." He flashed a fake, crooked smile at Ryo as he backed away, waving, abrupt and awkward, completely disregarding why he had been at the noodle stand in the first place, "See ya."

As Ryo glared at his back, he hadn't the faintest idea that Ren could be cursing himself mentally the entire time he walked away. Instead, Ryo was wondering how the Hell they'd gotten so close - only for it to be torn away to shreds and crumble so quickly... They'd only been apart a few weeks, but perhaps that was enough to put all their pain and differences in perspective.   
Or at least remind Ren what his real goal was.

"That Ren could easily pass for a red snake..." He sighed, mumbling to himself, "Guess I should head back to the bustling diner I go." He'd said it loudly in a last ditch effort to tell Ren where he'd be. But the man didn't even acknowledge him. 

Ryo's heart had sunk into his stomach, any attempt at staying positive was gone, and he hadn't moved away from their meeting spot right away. He had a feeling that they both knew they'd see one another again - but this was not what he'd been anticipating... And Ren felt as cold as ever. That smirk of his was the same yet it felt so false and hollow. He felt more like the man he met the tried to stab him right off the bat... He felt like that same broken thug he distrusted, and needed to go to for help. He no longer felt the man who spoke up against his cool demeanor, the man who helped him when he didn't need to... the man he'd kissed. 

He felt used.

Ryo's fists clenched tightly with his anger, rage brimming his eyes with tears. He'd tried to avoid disappointing himself with thoughts of their reunion - yet this was worse than he'd tried not to imagine. This hurt. 

"Damn it..." He muttered inaudibly through gritted teeth, watching Ren's pony tail lightly chase him in the air as he walked away, "damn you!"

Ren was thinking the same words. 

There was nothing about their reunion that felt good - aside from the initial excitement of hearing Ryo call his name. But he was hungry and cranky, not only that, he hadn't expected Ryo to find him in the middle of a vendor's market. This was not going right. This was awful. He couldn't have possibly played it off any worse. Whatever, he really was there to find treasure! Not that he thought Ryo believed that anymore. 

Did he care? Sure. Should he? Absolutely not. He had a job, and his number one goal was to become rich beyond his wildest dreams. It wasn't his fault that some dumb, passionate kid made him feel a thing or two.   
It's not like he hadn't slept with people or had brief flings without a second thought before. This was just like that. This was only that...

Being in an actual, public relationship with another man would be a scary prospect at best. Ren had a fondness for women too, but was by no means traditional, nor did he really care about the public opinion. He liked who he liked, despite sexual activity between men being illegal in his home town. But fuck staying there, anyway, how boring. And since when did he care about any law he didn't want to follow? Boom, problem solved.   
But only the gods knew how Ryo might feel about that sort of thing. He had no idea how Japanese culture worked when it came to... All of that. 

Gods, he was thinking too much. Headache central.

Although... None of it meant he had to be so cold to Ryo. 

Maybe he should try again...? He already knew where Ryo was staying, perhaps he could try and stop by, change things. He didn't have to, and he had shit to do, but what good was any of this if Ryo remained pissed at him? There wasn't going to be any treasure, and there wasn't gonna be any glory if he couldn't tail it off the damn kid. 

Yeah, that was his rationale.

Ren sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked along the Riverside. Yes, he fucked up. He had to do something. Like fixing a business partnership, right? Damn.

Not too long after their fleeting reunion, Ren made the decision to find Ryo in the Niaowu hotel. He'd been waiting for a while, and it was nearly nine. With a disgruntled groan, he headed into the lobby bathroom, annoyed at Ryo for making him wait so damn long...

Now, he wasn't usually the type to hype himself up, and he felt like an idiot doing so, mumbling under his breath. 'You can do this, he's just a dumb kid, he'll forgive you, this isn't a big deal. You don't even need to ask the idiot.' That was good enough right? 

He stared at his hands for a moment, releasing a slow sigh. Gods, he was tired. Getting here hadn't been easy, and now, being here wasn't easy.

Adjusting his bandanna, he moved to leave the restroom. 

He froze briefly when he heard Ryo's voice out front. Ren was about ready to push himself ahead, go catch him, talk to him, but he changed his mind the instant he heard a woman respond to him. He snaked against the wall, keeping himself pressed against it as he neared the corner, briefly peeking out to see Ryo sit down with a young, beautiful girl. How strange was that? A girl? Really?

Ren scowled, and moved back against the wall. He was in no way above eavesdropping. He hadn't heard the beginning of their conversation clearly.

Ryo was always awkward, but even more so when he spoke to women. 

"Have you found anything?" The woman asked, a delicate, sweet voice reaching their ears.

"Hm. Nothing... New." Ryo replied.

She seemed disappointed, but resigned to patience, "Okay..."

"I..." Ryo paused on and off, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to tell her this, "Met someone... Unexpected, though."

Unexpected in the way he ran into him, not entirely unexpected, as he knew he'd see him eventually. 

"Oh, who?" The woman replied.

"A man I met in Hong Kong, named Ren."

Ren's heart skipped, cold sweat beading throughout his skin. 

"Ren, huh?" The girl seemed curious, "Is he a friend of yours?"

Neither of them knew the answer to that. But Ryo's response forced Ren into a state of anger that he had to swallow like a dry rock.

"Not... exactly.

Excuse you, kid?

"I keep my guard up when he's around."

'_Seriously_?' Ren glowered internally, '_After all I've done?_'

"So..." She pushed for clarification, "He's a bad guy?"

"Uhm..."

Ren's entire body was washed over in a cold ice. 

"Yeah, actually. He is." 

Ren's hands balled into fists as he attempted to slow down his rapid breaths. He wasn't going to disagree when he was called a thug, or a jerk, or a snake. But he wasn't a bad guy! ...Was he? No! He was just trying to make a damn living in this harsh environment. One that he was born into and wasn't his fault to begin with!

Yet, his anger was lightly soothed, softened a little upon hearing, "But... We can trust him?"

"Well, yeah... We just have to watch our backs is all."

It was something. But not enough to completely quell the heaviness and heat weighing on him now. 

"O...Kay?" She seemed just as confused about the two's relationship as they did.

So... Was that really how Ryo felt about him...? 

Ren felt lost in a dizzying heart palpitation. He couldn't find his breath anymore, until he somehow forced a shaky one into his lungs. His nails were digging into his palms, only protected by the fabric of his gloves. He really was a bad guy, wasn't he? He's a thug, a villain, and Ryo had only needed him for help. Never took him for the using people sort, but maybe Ryo wasn't as innocent as anyone liked to believe... 

With a start, Ren realized he needed to hide better as the girl passed by, toward the stairs. He slid down the hall, cautious, quick, and careful. He pushed himself off the wall to hide behind the corner in front of the bathroom door, still hidden. 

He listened to Ryo and the girl bid each other a good night, and he peeked out very carefully to see if Ryo followed her. He felt some sense of relief when Ryo didn't tail her - but panicked when he almost turned his way. He hid again, and he wasn't spotted. All Ren ended up hearing was the sound of a phone being picked up - and Ryo beginning to dial a number. 

Well, he certainly didn't want to apologize now anyway. If he wanted a bag guy, he was going to see one. Bad guys don't apologize, bad guys don't do rescue missions. But Ren had to stay put, there was no way he was going to sneak past Ryo while he was on the phone - Lords knew the damn hotel woman might say something. 

But again... Ren was not above eaves dropping. Slowly, he lowered himself to the floor, closing his eyes as he sat on the ground and listened. 

"Joy?"

Joy. Joy!? Why of all people would he call Joy? Either way, at first it was a typical greeting, boring the crap out of Ren already. He leaned his head back against the wall, and waited. 

But his head shot up when Ryo began talking about him, yet again. 

"I ran into Ren here..."

Yeesh, don't say it so dryly.

"Yeah..." He paused, "Play nice? With Ren?"

Ren grimaced to himself. But hey, he wasn't much one for playing nice either. Fair. But the next statement wasn't.

"Don't make me laugh. Nobody would make a great team with him."

'_Wow, thanks_.' Ren bit back that sarcastic statement, by literally biting his lip, '_Least I'm a leader. I've got people waiting for orders. Tsk_.'

"He's only interested in treasure! Treasure is about the last thing I'm after."

Ren's hand hesitantly met his face, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. This was a nightmare. Ryo was both completely right and wrong at the same time. Ren's desperation for power and riches completely conflicted with the way his heart was beating right then, with the way he wanted to yell at him for being such a damn idiot, for disregarding his actions and taking priory over his words... Not that he was about to admit a damn thing.

Though the way Ryo spoke next put a dent in his lost thoughts, "A... blast? With Ren? Really?"

Ren peeked out again, nearly crawling to look that annoyingly far around the corner, too quickly, almost making a sound. It was difficult to see him, but he'd stepped back enough. Either the lighting had changed, or Ryo's face had become flushed with red... Ren knew his face matched.

But Ryo scowled, "Give me a break."

Oh, what Ren wouldn't do to hear Joy's side of the conversation. She knew him, she knew him more than he liked to admit... She was gonna weasel his feelings out without being blunt, wasn't she? But Ryo was convinced that he didn't care now, and Joy may have made him flustered, but that didn't change anything!

They shared a kiss! How the hell was he so damn convinced he didn't care? Gods, what kind of a mess had he gotten himself into... Sure, he was the type to run off and do reckless things... But chasing a boy across China? What the fuck was he thinking? At least his friends didn't seem surprised. Wong and Joy may have been able to read him like an open book, but any of his men? Nah. They expected him to chase the scent of money, hell, they trusted him to do so. Of course he'd go running off at the statement 'treasures of the Qing dynasty.' It was a priority to him... Ryo was merely a benefit to the chase. Yeah. That was all. It was better to look at a pretty boy (and potentially a pretty girl now, too) on the trail to gold than fight along side a ton of old geezers. Uhg.

Ren had been lost in thought, and he hadn't realized that Ryo was talking to someone else already. They had been talking for a moment already, and Ren hadn't caught on until he heard...

"Naturally I didn't do it alone I was with a few friends I made back in Hong Kong."

Ren peeked up a little again. But scowled, were they friends or not? And who was he talking to!? Yeesh. And he thought he was the hot and cold one. 

Ren stood again, moving a little bit further in when he realized Ryo had moved closer to the phone, his voice more on a hush-hush level. Whoever was on the other end of the line must have been someone who knew of Ryo's path and all that was going on... He wanted to keep it private.

"They were at least trustworthy, but they couldn't hold a candle to you..."

Ren froze in place, staring at Ryo's profile with wide eyes and a sneer. Ohhh no. No, no. Ren knew that tone. That extremely subtle flirting. That damn tease - so similar to the way he spoke his name, the very thing that drove him up a damn wall. Ren gritted his teeth, knowing he was going to get a headache after all of this. There was no way he was talking to a girl, either. He could never be that suave with a woman.

"There were so many times when I wondered, what if I'd brought you with me to Hong Kong..."

Ren felt his stomach drop, every part of him washed with cold again... 

That smile in Ryo's voice, that genuine care, who the hell was it on the other line!?

"Yeah, why?" Ryo muttered, a gentle lull to his tone.

No, no, maybe it was just a friend. Maybe he just knew that person really well. Maybe it was a brother or something? That had to be it. Ryo couldn't possibly talk to someone like that in a flirtatious manner... But he did hear a masculine tone on the other line as he stepped closer, pressed back against the wall. 

"Are you blushing, Guizhang?"

_Guizhang_!? Who the fuck is Guizhang!? If he'd been told, he'd completely forgotten. But now, whoever he was, he had his scorn.

Ren thought he'd already heard the worst crap he could possibly hear while eavesdropping. He was wrong. This took the cake, and the presents, and the house. His ears were ringing, vision tunnelling, and his heart felt like it was about to give. All the fury he'd ever felt seemed to rise back into every single fiber of his being all at once. All over a stupid kid and a stupid mystery phone man and a stupid treasure! It was all stupid, worthless, useless crap! 

It took all of his willpower not to stomp up to Ryo right then and there to confront him. Who the hell did he think he was!? How could this possibly get any worse!? He knew confronting him would be far worse than keeping his mouth shut, and pretending he heard nothing inside the wall of Niaowu Hotel... And that's what he would do. Erase this night, erase the ideals he had, erase any promises in a devil's heart. 

But he wasn't going to leave Niaowu empty handed, and that meant shoving his heart as far down as it could go, deep into the crevices of his own personal hell in hopes that no one would ever find it again. 

It was only a matter of time before Ryo would need him, and Ren was going to make it as clear as possible - he wanted treasure. Nothing more, nothing less.


	4. Selfish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their mess of a first meeting, and Ren's inability to not avoid hurting himself with unnecessary information, Ren and Ryo keep a bit of a distance. They weren't going to talk about what happened, that would be madness.  
Eventually the animosity starts to fade, but neither of can admit that they miss one another in even a casual manner... Though it had only been a couple days.
> 
> So what do each of them do when they want attention from someone they can't even admit they enjoy being around?
> 
> Well, Ryo is forward, he approaches and speaks to Ren no matter what mood They're in. But Ren was still cold to him.
> 
> Ren? No, that approach was too simple. Any convoluted scheme was better than saying he wanted to have Ryo around. Even if the scheme was a real problem he needed help with... an excuse was an excuse, and he was going to use it.
> 
> But the trouble that comes along with that plan lead to a rather interesting interaction for the two...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! This chapter is based around the almond mushroom side quest and the fact that Ren is staying at the ferry terminal and not the hotel. I wanted to delve into what I think happened in that side quest and break it down into what I think happened. 
> 
> This is the first chapter that actually starts getting that mature rating. It's mostly sensual, but boy was it fun to write. 
> 
> Currently planning chapter 5.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 4**

**Selfish**

Ren had been avoiding Ryo at every turn, every time he saw him he'd brush him off with an insult or by teasing him.

"Uhg, it's you again." He'd say.

Or, "Man, you're annoying."

"Don't you have something to do?"

What did he want from him anyway? If he was such a bad guy, why did Ryo keep approaching him? He rarely had answers. Sure, he knew the area better, but he had stuff to do. Something other than deal with Ryo's crap. He didn't want to see him right now, and he didn't want to need him. 

Ryo could sense how extra irritable Ren was being... But he wasn't about to bring anything up. If they could just ignore it, maybe work together towards something bigger, he'd settle down. He didn't understand why he was being so cold to him, this wasn't the same as his typical biting sarcasm or teasing wit. He was just plain bitter. 

But after a few days of wandering, and working, the anger had settled... Not completely, but both of them felt the animosity fading. 

"What are you doing around here?" Ryo had asked as he'd been passing by Ren, toward the warehouse. 

"Me? Not much." Ren raised a brow at him, "Just squatting in the room at the second floor of the ferry terminal. Gotta head this way to _leave_?"

"Oh, yeah.." Ryo cocked his head slightly to the side.

"Now that you mention it..." Ren continued, playing dumb - but boy did he have a few comments about the answer he already knew, "Where are you staying at?"

"Hotel Niaowu, here on the port."

Ren scoffed, "Wow, that big-ass hotel?" His eyes narrowed, "Well aren't you special."

Ryo squinted at him, "I didn't ask for your opinion-"

"Whatever, man. It's none of my beeswax."

"Good." Ryo looked away from him, "Let's keep it that way."

Ouch. 

Ren scowled a bit and started to move away from him, but Ryo sighed, softly calling out to him.

"Didn't you think this through when you followed me here?"

Ren turned back to him, a small frown on his face, "Hey, I had to catch up. Not much time to think about this crap. I'm used to surviving on bare minimum. Street smarts, heard of them?" 

"Whatever..." Ryo sighed, "Are you really making ends meet?"

Ren snorted, "Whaddya mean?"

"Eating enough... Staying warm...?" Ryo mumbled the last part, glancing away from him.

Ren eyed him, "_Eating enough_?"

"Something other than chow mein."

Ren glared, who was he to judge? 

The thief scoffed, brushing him off with a hand gesture, "Tsk. Man, I saw you eat straight garlic once."

It was true, and made Ryo narrow his eyes. That wasn't his point and he knew it, "Ren."

Ren felt a smile pull at his lips, but it turned into a smug smirk, "Pshh. Forget me. I'm doing _juuust_ fine." He placed his hands on his hips, leaning in towards Ryo and praying his stomach wouldn't growl, "Waitin' around for you to find me some treasure."

Ryo grimaced, "I told you, the last thing I'm interested in is treasure."

"Suit yourself, man." Ren rolled his eyes, leaning back again, "I've got stuff to do."

Ryo seemed curious, "Like what?"

"Oh you know..." Ren shrugged, brows raising, "Stuff."

Ryo grimaced at him, catching his gaze, "You better not be up to something shady."

He scoffed, "Of course not! Gimme a break..."

Ryo placed his hands on his hips, "You sure?"

"You think I'd be dumb enough to cause a ruckus and draw attention to myself?" He smirked, looking him up and down, "I'm not a rube like you."

"A what-"

"Oops, gotta go!" Ren chuckled, starting to move away, "Duty calls."

"Ren-" Ryo attempted to stop him, "What do you mean?"

Ren started walking backwards, gesturing his arms out, "Well, I gotta '_make ends meet_' don't I? See ya."

Ren could feel Ryo's eyes on him as he turned and walked away with a final, brief wave. 

He didn't need anyone's approval when it came to his life style, or his morals (or rather, lack thereof.) He made his way and didn't really want to change it. What would be the point? Make a total 180 turn in life and 'make ends meet' with some crappy, dead-end job that he'd never get rich off of? Never be able to explore with? Boring. It's not like he'd had the privilege or family to lead a scholar's life anyway. He didn't want a boring career path. He may have struggled here and there, being a thief and all, but it was better than wasting away in front of an office desk or a forklift wheel.

He was good at what he did, and he wasn't about to go careening down another path. It baffled him that Ryo wasn't at all interested in the gods damned treasures of the Qing Dynasty. How was that not at the very least extremely interesting? Or in his case, ensnaring and enthralling. He'd had dreams about this sort of thing! 

He just hadn't expected his heart to be involved in... Another way. He could admit to himself that it was making him act a little more reckless than usual.

But screw it, passion versus passion, he knew what he wanted and a boy wasn't gonna change that. 

Other than that... He wasn't about to go and tell Ryo he'd spent almost all of his money trying to get here.

As one would anticipate, Ren's means of 'making ends meet' involved rather unorthodox methods. Or, perhaps, just stealing, to be blunt... And stealing in Niaowu was surprisingly simple. Keeping a low profile and a quick set of hands was all he really needed. Deep pockets helped.

Buuut having a heart didn't help.

Upon sneaking about an herb shop, Ren overheard a grandfather speaking to his daughter. The old man was dying, and he may not make it to his grandchild's wedding... And Ren had just sneaked something into his pocket while they weren't looking. Crap. 

He approached them with a curious concern when he overheard there might be a way to turn the old man's situation around... And, well, Ren couldn't help but offer a hand. Though, he wasn't one for finding herbs... And he was broke at the moment. Oh boy. Damn what he had left of his conscious.

Luckily, he knew just the right person to bug about this sort of thing. Ryo was the type of person to stop and help some kid tie their shoe - baiting him into helping an old man should be a piece of cake... Plus, he was easy to find.

The moment Ren saw Ryo passing by the vendor stands on the harbor, he rushed up with a quick wave.

"Ah, its you!" Ren sounded particularly chipper (for him anyway), compared to his usual grumpy attitude, "Give me a hand."

"I refuse." Ryo glared, flat out, not feeling up to Ren's antics after he'd been in the rain all day looking for clues. The clouds were just beginning to clear up, and then his own personal storm came running up to him.

Ren scowled, "At least listen to me!" He shifted his stance, hand on his hip as he eyed Ryo, "There's a life on the line here."

Ryo sighed before complying, "Let's hear it."

Got him.

Ren wasn't about to smile, considering the situation, "This is a real tear-jerker. I met this old geezer. His grandkid is getting married, but the geezer is dying. He doesn't have much time left. He wants to make it to his grandkid's wedding." He tried not to think too much about it, with how he found out and all, "Ain't it sad?"

Ryo prompted him to continue. Some how Ren was able to convince him to help, though he knew he could probably do it himself... he knew he was the one to ask. He gave a specific suggestion, although he knew he was giving Ryo most of the work. He shouldn't feel bad about it, he was going to reward Ryo if he was able to help! It would totally be worth his time. 

And he did help. Not even an hour later, Ryo had caught up to him with the almond mushroom in tow. That... Didn't exactly give Ren much time to come up with any sort of reward. 

Ren briefly skirted his hands around his pockets, attempting to feel around for pretty much anything he knew may be useless to him. Ryo was sentimental right? That was enough. 

Well he didn't need his old lighter, as it broke on the way to Niaowu when he tried to light a stack of papers on fire... for fun. 

Marbles, a couple key chains he actually liked but knew he didn't need, and a small box thing with a vase inside that was giving off a strange smell he didn't want to deal with... He was kind of just shoving things into Ryo's hands without thinking. He was a little flustered by it happening all at once. His pockets were too deep to keep searching without looking like a frantic moron.

Ryo blinked a few times, staring at the mess of items that Ren shoved into his hands. But the box caught Ryo's eye, "What the heck is this...?"

Ren shrugged, lying, "The client had it."

Ryo squinted at him, suspicions rising, "Okay...?"

Ren looked him over for a moment, observing his movements as he meticulously placed the items into his pockets. 

Shaking his head to come out of his daze, Ren waved his hand in front of himself, "Ah- thanks or whatever. See you around."

Ryo looked up the moment he began to move away, "Ren-"

Ren ignored him. 

Ryo began questioning everything he knew about Ren. That mushroom wasn't going to an old man, was it?

Without a second thought, Ren had rushed to the medicine shop he'd knew the old man would be hanging around. He didn't hesitate to hand over the mushroom either. The smiles and thank yous weren't totally worthless anyway, an ego boost meant a lot after all the crap he was going through. 

Behind him, though, he heard whispering. A private conversation between an employee and an herbalist. the herbalist called over the old man, who owned the shop. 

Ren started to sneak away after a brief word to them, as if he had nothing to do with this, and swiftly turned the corner of the shop to instead listen by the window. The three were discussing some sort of rare, expensive herbal concoction that had gone missing. It was a big deal, it was one of the most pricey items in their shop, and it was gone! The herbalist even explained what the container looked like... The imagery described struck a familiar chord, and his eyes widened, remembering the box with the small vase inside... that he'd handed over to Ryo.

Just his luck. And poor judgement. He could kick himself for that. Nearly tripping as he ran to try and find him was close enough, though. 

Perhaps luck was a little on his side, as Ryo was coming up the stairs toward the pawn shop just as he was heading there.

"Hey!" Ren grabbed Ryo's shoulder, startling him, "I was looking for you." 

Ryo's face flushed, "Huh-"

"You got that thing I gave you?" Ren gestured with his free hand, holding himself back so he didn't search Ryo's pockets himself, "Was there a nasty vase inside?"

"I don't know-" Ryo looked him over, confused.

Ren huffed, glancing away from him as he was caught in the riptide of his thoughts, "Didn't think that piece of junk would actually be worth something..." His words quieted even further, staring off into space, "If only I could get it back..."

Ryo sighed, prying Ren's hand off of him by his wrist, "What are you mumbling about?"

Ren's attention was caught by Ryo holding his wrist, responding without thinking much, "It's nothing." He pulled, reclaiming ownership of his wrist, getting back on track, "About that vase..." His eyes trailed up to meet his, "You didn't sell it... Did you?"

Ryo thought this was a prime opportunity to make a joke, "I threw it in the river."

Ren gaped, grabbing Ryo's shoulders with both hands, "You what!?"

Ryo was taken aback, but stayed still, "Just kidding."

Ren growled a little, stepping away from with a frustrated drop of his fists. Of all the times to mess with him...

But Ryo drew closer, "Why are you so interested in that vase?"

Ren slowly brought his head up, realizing how close Ryo had gotten. Ren was almost backed up against the railing of the stairs, and his eyes fell to Ryo's lips. He swallowed hard, but remembered what was really important here.

"I- I'm not interested at all. Nope." He lied to Ryo, and the thoughts swirling through his head, "Not at all."

Ryo kept his eyes on him, "That's fishy."

Ren wasn't sure if Ryo was trying to intimidate him or not. The younger man had stepped even closer, and Ren ended up with his back against the railing. Ryo's eyes had narrowed, attempting to study Ren's nervous demeanor. Ryo would never guess that Ren's red cheeks and shallow breathing wasn't because of the vase.

Ren forced himself out of that flustered state and pushed his way out of the situation, down the stairs, "I just remembered I have to be somewhere!" He didn't look back as he waved, making a quick get away by jumping off the second set of stairs, "Bye!" 

Once again, Ryo was left confused, suspicious and irritated. Compelled to find out why Ren wanted that vase so badly, Ryo headed straight into the pawn shop.

Rushing down the promenade, Ren's head was buzzing with everything he didn't want to think about again. He was reminded very quickly that Ryo was a clueless idiot who didn't know the kind of effect he had on people. They've had this discussion! Oh, gods he really didn't want to remember that right now. But his pace had slowed from a brisk walk to a wistful meander through the promenade. His face lit up instantly upon remembering the night before Ryo's departure. He hadn't realized he was wandering, nor that he'd reached up and mindlessly touched his lips with the edges of his fingertips. 

Right until his stomach growled, reminding him that he couldn't live in his memories. 

Ah, crap, that vase could have bought him dinner for like, two weeks.

Ren sneered at himself, dropping his hand and looking around for literally anything he could take just to get his stomach full. The cooking smells from the harbor were driving him nuts.

After a short amount of surveying, and quickly putting his plans to action, he was able to snatch up enough for a decent dinner. The hardest thing was stealing a container of dumplings when the stand owner had turned around.

He'd downed the whole thing pretty quickly, dropping the container onto the floor and kicking it underneath the ferry terminal bed he was crashing on. 

Ren flopped back against the bed, frowning at the uncomfortable lumpiness of the mattress and firmness of the pillow. He knew Ryo wasn't a rich kid, but damn... What did he do to be able to afford two rooms at The Niaowu Hotel? Whatever. This was fine. He'd slept on far worse. At least here it was dry and had blankets to pile on.  
Although... He couldn't keep his mind from wandering. What were the hotel bedsheets made of? What kind of amenities did they have? Was Ryo sharing a room with that girl? Wait that wasn't even close to what he was thinking about.

He groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes to block out any light. It wasn't even 7pm yet and he was exhausted. 

Just as he had begun to relax, he heard the creaking of the stairs that led up to the ferry terminal beds. He didn't bother moving until a particular scent of leather and over-used mousse caught his attention. He moved his arm up, giving his eyes a moment to adjust as Ryo approached him.

"Get up." Ryo said.

Ren's brows furrowed, blinking the blurriness in his eyes away, "What?"

Ryo was more demanding this time, "I said get up."

Ren smirked a little, anxiety prickling at his belly as he looked him over and sat up, "Damn..." He bent his leg up, resting his arm on his knee, "What's your problem?"

"You." Ryo sniped, stepping closer to the bed, "I sold that vase you wanted."

"You--" Ren gaped, his eyes narrowing as he looked up to match his gaze, "Why tell me that, huh?"

"I want to know how you got it. I want to know what you did with the almond mushroom." Ryo glared, clenching his fists and taking another step around the bed, "I don't believe that story you told me."

Ren scoffed, turning his head away as he shifted a little, "You're such a pest, man. Sayin' you trust me one minute then interrogating me the next."

"If you need money, then tell me." Ryo sounded angry, yet the concern was clear, "You don't have to resort to stealing."

Ren rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Ryo nearly growled, coming as close to the bed as he could without getting on it, "_Ren._"

Ren glanced down like a pitiful dog, ashamed of chewing on its owners shoes. He finally forced himself to glance up to Ryo, a grimace on his face. 

"You don't even need the money..." Ren stated, "Why pawn it? Just to get back at me?" He sighed, shaking his head before looking down again, "Jeeze. Talk about a dick move."

"You lied." Ryo harshly reminded, "Just tell me if you need help. You don't have to lie-"

Ren sneered, forcing himself up off the bed and forcing Ryo to step back, "What do you want from me, man!?"

"The truth!" Ryo scolded, looking him in the eye, "That story, is it true, or do you have too much pride to admit you need help?"

"Its true!" Ren sneered, poking Ryo's chest as he spoke, "I don't need to lie about that. I didn't need your help, either."

"Then why ask?"

Ren hadn't expected that response, and dropped his hand, along with his shoulders, exhaling hard through his nose. What was he supposed to say? That he got fed up with pretending to hate him? That he needed an excuse to talk to him amid all bustling and clue searching?

Ryo's gaze softened as Ren looked away from him again. 

"Crap..." Ren sighed, fidgeting with posture, "I don't know what you want from me, kid. I ain't like you."

"What do you mean?"

Ren groaned, lifting his arm to rub the back of his head as he continued to try and distract his eyes with anything but Ryo, "All those... Stupid little jobs or whatever. I get so bored I feel like I wanna crawl out of my own skin just to feel something."

Ryo watched him intently, every eye shift to every gait shift, "Its no secret that you're easily bored, Ren."

"Ren _this_, Ren _that_! Come on!" He groaned, throwing his hands aside in exasperation, "You _know_ I hate it when you say my name."

Ryo tilted his head, his voice dropping a little deeper, an odd lilt on the top of his tongue, "Another lie?" 

Ren growled, abruptly grabbing the collar of Ryo's jacket and yanking him close, faces an inch apart. They were both breathing fast, eyeing eachother, caught up in the others' stare.

Ren lowered his voice to a harsh, raspy whisper, "Don't starting teasing me." He craned his head just slightly closer, "I'm gettin' reaaaal tired of it.

"Is that so?" Ryo mumbled.

"Yeah." Ren sneered, "You're no different from me right now, kid."

Ryo's brows raised, "How is that, exactly?"

"Teasing, playing games..." A smirk tugged at his lips with a dry chuckle, "You sold that stupid vase just so you could come up here and bug me, didn't ya?"

"I'm not like you."

"Pshh, you're more like me than you wanna admit."

"Maybe you're like _me_." Ryo suggested. 

"Maybe you _like_ me."

"Maybe I do."

Ren stopped his snark in its tracks, his thoughts made a record scratch kind of screeching halt.

Ryo was blushing, and so was Ren. 

Ren swallowed the dryness in his throat, moving back from Ryo and just a bit, and letting him go. His eyes darted over the younger man's face. They were both fumbling with the words they should have said, pushing them back against the deeper crevices of their minds. 

Ren changed the subject entirely, "I could have used that money, you know."

Ryo's face scrunched, "And I couldn't?"

Ren folded his arms over his chest, squinting at him, "Okay, Mr. Hotel Niaowu." 

"I don't care where I stay." 

"What _**do**_ you care about?" Ren hissed.

"You know the answer to that."

Ren rolled his eyes, "Then why are you here, huh? Go track down your nemesis or something and stop bugging me."

"Are we supposed to pretend this didn't happen?"

Ren glared, "What?"

Ryo kept his annoyingly calm demeanor, "Or pretend that you didn't kiss me before I left?"

"You kissed me back, idiot." Ren pouted, "It takes two to tango, got it?"

But Ryo wasn't putting up with his attempt to bite back this time. Oh no, he wasn't.

Ryo abruptly grabbed Ren by his wrists - yanking up both of his arms. Ren had a split second to react, but all he did was open his mouth to shout at him. His rough 'Hey!' was cut off by losing his breath, thrown down, back hitting the uncomfortable bed. His thoughts were further cut off by the younger man straddling his waist and pressing his wrists back against the pillow. Ren's eyes were wide. He hadn't expected that at all. 

But nothing happened. His excitement died down rather quickly, scowling at Ryo's lack of drive when he hesitated for too long. 

"Jeeze!" Ren growled, but it turned into a weird kind of laugh, "Do something already! You made it this far."

Ryo's entire face had gone red, and his brows were furrowed together, "I planned to!"

"And what, ya got scared?" Ren snickered.

Ryo opened his mouth to respond, but Ren tugged his wrists down and out of Ryo's grasp. Ryo attempted to stop Ren as he sat up, pulling at his hair - but instead he only received a short, pleased whimper from the thief. And it didn't stop him. Ren kept his chin high, head back from his hair being pulled, but his hands were freely roaming up Ryo's jeans, nails sliding along with the movement. Ryo shivered, needing to turn his gaze away, but he rested his hands on Ren's shoulders to keep himself supported.

Ren shook his head, clicking his tongue as Ryo released a shaky breath, "Tsk... What's wrong now?"

Ryo closed his eyes, forcing out an answer, "Nothing."

Ren leaned more forward, allowing his hands to rest on Ryo's back pockets and making him groan lightly when he grabbed him.

Ren felt the embers of his jealousy return, and he chuckled quite wickedly, "...Are you blushing?"

Ryo's eyes shot back open, hastily making their way back to Ren... And he found him smirking like some sort of demon. 

"You trust me, huh?" Ren whispered, low and raspy.

"I shouldn't." Ryo replied, his voice also low, breathy.

"But you want to..." 

Ren's hands trailed up further. One trailed along the edges of his belt, making their way to the front of his jeans... Ryo seemed to have noticed the lack of Ren's other hand, althought it was out of sight. He tried to look back, only to catch sight of it when Ren suddenly reached up and touched his neck with it. Ryo gasped softly, unable to watch Ren lightly scratching a trail down the front of his chest. 

After making short work of his belt, Ren's palm slowly and gently lingered down in a way that made Ryo lose his breath with a small sound.

Ryo was at a loss for words, reactions, thoughts. His mind was practically blank.

Ren ceased his actions for a moment, and instead rested his hands on Ryo's hips, studying Ryo's face with a small frown, "Hey..."

"I'm fine." Ryo whispered, but closed his eyes so he didn't have to look at him. 

But Ren sighed, "You're not fine, man."

Ryo peered down at him again, but only for a second, as his attention shifted elsewhere, "What do you--"

"For crying out loud." Ren rolled his eyes, "I'm not gonna do something you don't want me to do."

"I never said--"

Ren scoffed, gesturing up at him with one hand, "It's written all over your face!" 

"I've never done this before!" Ryo admitted, catching Ren off guard.

"Eh?" Ren gaped, staring at him for a good long moment before shaking his head with a sigh, "You're kidding..."

"This is no time for jokes..." Ryo mumbled, "I'm serious."

Ren snorted in mild amusement, not to make fun of him, but because he hadn't entirely expected it, "Yeesh... I mean, everyone gets a first time, for everything, or whatever. I ain't a creep though, man, I'll back off if you don't want me. Just _say it._"

Ryo sighed, finally finding the bravery to look down at him, "...I... I want y-"

In a heart stopping split second, the two had to separate, hearing foot steps and creaking below them. Ryo shoved his belt back together in a hurry while trying to get off the bed, and Ren was far more calm, turned away from Ryo as he shifted something in his hands. While Ryo was straightening out his jacket, he felt something touch his back pocket, and turned to look at Ren, who was staring at his nails oh so nonchalantly. 

Ryo's eyes narrowed, about to reach into his back pocket when an older couple came up the stairs and greeted them, which distracted them. Ryo was polite enough to reply, but Ren only gave a lazy wave before he stood up. 

The couple minded their business, and moved out to the balcony to stand and look over the harbor. Ren gave a small sigh and turned around to face Ryo, both on opposite sides of the bed. 

"Well that ruined the mood." Ren stated, but ended up giving him that sly grin, "Next time, your place." 

"Very funny." Ryo muttered bitterly, squinting at him, "I have things to do."

Ren quickly but very obviously glanced down to point something out, "Might want to take a trip to the restroom first."

"S-shut up." Ryo exhaled harshly through his nose and quickly removed his jacket. He wrapped it around his waist as he glared at Ren's smug expression. 

Ren turned away from him again, still sounding quite amused, "Whatever. It's late. I'm gonna hit the hay."

Ryo raised a brow, "It's only 8."

"Yeah? And you tire me out. Demanding much?" He was clearly joking.

Ryo rolled his eyes and he turned toward the stares, "Whatever." 

Ren had a small smile on his face as he looked back to Ryo over his shoulder, watching him descend the stairs... The smile slowly turned into a frown as every negative thought crossed his mind again. This was going the way he would never admit he wanted it to. It wouldn't continue long though, would it? He sat on the bed with a sigh, yanking the blue blanket across from him off the other bed.

As Ryo entered the Niaowu hotel, he was stopped by Ma, the woman at the front desk. He had rushed out that morning, and forgot to pay for their rooms that night. Reaching back, he pulled out his wallet.

His heart dropped upon seeing his money, finding far less than he'd had earlier... He counted quickly, finding himself 270 yuan short. The exact price of that stupid vase.

That damn Ren. 


	5. Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ren pickpocketed Ryo, the two are once again unsure how feel - aside from irritated. Ren would never admit that he felt a little guilt - and it was only because he hated that Ryo seemed to be avoiding him again... Mostly.
> 
> Ryo finally finds the hide out of the Red Snakes, and goes it alone. Without any back up, Ryo quickly ends up in a sticky situation. Injured and weak, he tries to stumble his way back to hotel. 
> 
> Ren finds him just in time to help him back on his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All angst and no fluff makes the boys mildly depressed.  
It's fluff time.  
Not 100% fluff, mild violence, taking care of eachother, some soft moments. Kiiinda sad fluff, really, but still it's something. I don't consider this chapter mature at all (aside from maybe tiny amounts of innuendo), I just think they need that fluff.  
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

**Chapter 5**

**Bruises**

The animosity had returned. 

Ryo had actually begun avoiding Ren as much as he could... Ren wasn't going to approach him without reason. At least he got to see him, occasionally they exchanged glances whenever Ryo passed by the Golden Goose.

But they couldn't avoid each other for long. First Ryo had needed help finding a stolen item for Lin, and not long after, they'd ran straight into each other at the Golden Goose while Ryo was asking dumb questions... as usual. 

He was looking for the red snakes again, and Ren knew it was gonna be troublesome. 

"Yo," Ren pushed, "don't do anything stupid and get into trouble!"

Ryo's voice dropped to a mild tease, "What, are you worried about me?"

"Oh-" Ren felt his cheeks burn, "shut up!"

Ryo grimaced, "Yeah yeah..."

"Remember that you're the key to the treasure!" Ren fidgeted a little, keeping his chin up as he backtracked his affection once again, "If you get snuffed out, we lose everything."

Ryo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "...Yeah. I got it." He sighed, "What are you doing in the meantime?"

"Eh? I don't report to you. I'm my own man." Ren shook his head, waving him off, "I've got stuff to do. Business. Gotta make stable ground. Lemme know when you find the Red Snakes."

"Fair enough..." Ryo glared at him, but released his frustration with a groan and turned to walk off.

Ren watched him walk away, wondering if there would ever be a point where he didn't have to feel so bitter about their parting...

After that, the last Ren heard of Ryo's activities had something to do with needing to find a Golden Goose VIP. Boy he wished he knew the answer to that, he'd like to get into that snazzy little place himself. Whatever. Despite chasing the thought away, he still stared blankly at the ferry terminal ceiling, thinking too much.

Was Ryo even going to need him for anything fun? Or was he just going to be stubborn and only bug him about unimportant stuff like pawn shops? There's no way he stopped trusting him after that little pickpocket - he did ask for help earlier, although vaguely. And in his defense - he was just getting even! Ryo didn't care about money, to him it was just a means to an end, and he had enough means. Maybe he was angry about it, but he doubt it dented their trust any.

Ryo wasn't really doing that whole 'I can do this alone, I didn't ask for your help' thing again... Was he? If he'd had that Guizhang guy with him, would Ryo be beside them?

Would Ryo have even needed his help in the first place...?

Oh gods, don't think about that. Don't go there. 

Ren shook his head, moving to the balcony of the ferry terminal to look at the hotel. He could see Ryo's room from exactly where he stood, and no, Ryo wasn't smart enough to close the curtains. At least, now he know Ryo and Shenhua had separate rooms.

Ren had to stop looking out a couple of times over the last few nights out of respect for his privacy. Though it was Ryo's own damn fault that he didn't close the curtains.

Maybe he was doing it on purpose. 

He wasn't there this time, it was only 6pm and neither of them really went to bed until after 9 or 10... 

While Ryo wasn't in his room, Ren had looked out at the right time. Ryo was rushing through the harbor walkway, and pushing past the tourists to arrive at the lucky hit stands between the arcade and the hotel. Ren squinted, trying to see exactly what he was doing. It was a difficult view from the angle, but with how fast Ryo moved past the stands, he assumed he wasn't going there for gambling or wood chopping... His destination was further down. 

Ren, not wanting to seem worried or desperate, counted backwards from ten... and only reached 6 before he rushed down the stairs and out of the terminal. By the time he'd reached the lucky hit stands, Ryo was nowhere to be seen... There was a stair way leading up to some abandoned buildings, but what was he going to do up there? Pick herbs again? What was with that newfound hobby anyway...

Ren sighed softly, shoulders dropping as he turned to face the lucky hit stands. Well, he was there now, a game (or ten) couldn't hurt, right?

Time passed rather quickly, racking up a decent amount of wins until a small unlucky streak. It wasn't easy to cheat at Lucky Hit without a distracted dealer. Unfortunately his method of flirt-and-disarm method had backfired, and Shui (the dealer) was paying more attention to him than he cared for. 

Clenching his fists, Ren glared at the board, "Come on... Mooove! How many times is this thing gonna get stuck?"

"I'm sorry-"

Ren bore a snarky, charming grin, "Still can't give me another extra turn?"

"I mean-"

One of the small metal balls fell from Ren's hand, rolling towards her. With a gasp, Shui bent down to pick it up, and Ren quickly placed one of the balls in the winning hole. The other dealer, Tong, wasn't even close to paying attention. He'd been trying to keep his eyes off them ever since Shui had starting giggling at Ren's antics...

As the escaped ball rolled beneath the stand, Ren faked a loud sigh and dropped the last ball in a board that he wasn't playing on the other side- with the sound of the metal ball against the nails, Shui assumed he'd taken another turn. As she turned to him, escaped ball in hand, he was strangely close all of a sudden. She lost her breath, her eyes searching his. 

"Thanks." He snickered, making sure to brush his fingers over the back of her hand before taking the ball from her. 

A thud sounded, and they both looked to the stand. 

"Ha!" He grinned and eyed the woman, leaning in toward her, "Looks like _I_ won."

The woman was taken aback once again, and nodded at his observation. As she moved away to grab his prize, though, Ren heard a familiar groan ahead of the stands, and looked up. 

Ryo stumbled down the wooden steps. 

"_Ryo_-" The name had left his lips in a whisper, too easy to miss. 

But as Ryo grappled at his own stomach and fell upon taking the final step down, Ren didn't hesitate to sprint straight around the boards and to him - throwing the last ball out of his grasp without a care for the dealers... Nor the stands, as he knocked two of them over in his pursuit toward Ryo.

"_**Ryo**_!"

Ryo inhaled sharply, lifting his head to find Ren running to his aid. 

He had never heard him say his name like that before. In fact, he'd never heard it come from him without it being insulting, or mocking. His heart was already racing fast enough from adrenaline - hearing his name come from Ren certainly didn't slow it down any.

Ren knelt down in haste, placing one hand on Ryo's back and the other on his arm. A prominent frown was etched on his features as he eyed the bruises forming on Ryo's face. 

"What the hell happened?" Ren spoke quietly, and received only a groan from Ryo, "Stubborn ass..."

Ren hoisted Ryo up quickly, making the younger man hiss in pain. Ren became even more concerned, and enraged by the idea that he could be fatally injured. The worry was overwhelming, and the anxiety was only fueled by the three people staring behind him. 

He turned quickly and caught their gazes, tossing them back into their places with a few words, "Hey! Mind your beeswax over there!"

The two lucky hit vendors and the wood chopping vendor quickly preoccupied them selves with other things, anything to avoid his scrutiny.

With them distracted, Ren grabbed Ryo's hand so he could pull Ryo's arm to rest around his shoulders, then placed his own arm around Ryo's back to support him. Ren carefully lead him along the path ahead of them, behind Hotel Niaowu, and far enough down so no one would see them. Ren carefully helped Ryo sit down in a patch of flowers. Lowering him down with caution.

"Easy, easy-" Ren whispered, holding him closely, yet treating him as if he were fragile, "Easy... just sit."

Ryo did so, releasing a pained grunt upon reaching the ground. 

"Idiot..." Ren mumbled, kneeling down and pushing Ryo back by his shoulder, making him sit back against a boulder without a single care whether he liked it or not.

Ren pushed Ryo's jacket aside, and pulled at the hem of Ryo's shirt. Ryo snatched Ren's wrist, weakly, but firm enough to warn him. 

Ren sneered, "Hey dumbass, I'm not being creepy, I'm checking you for internal bleeding!"

"I'll be fine-" Ryo strained, eyes narrowed and teeth gritted together, "I just need some rest."

"Oh yeah, you sure sound fine." Ren spat sarcastically before he pushed Ryo's wrist aside, "Stop being so damn stubborn. It's not like I haven't seen a stomach before. Chill out."

Ren had to bat Ryo's hand away once again, and pulled up his shirt with a quick yank. Ryo turned his head, breathing fast and shallow. Ren was careful, gently pressing at Ryo's stomach and side, where he'd seen him grab earlier. Ryo wasn't concerned that it was Ren looking at his stomach, rather, he just didn't want to deal with the potential damage he'd been inflicted... As if pretending he hadn't been hurt would fix it.

"What the hell did you get yourself in to...?" Ren mumbled to himself, and carefully pulled Ryo's shirt back down, "Well, you ain't bleeding, but you're bruising pretty fast."

"I'll be fine." Ryo was stern.

Ren rolled his eyes and moved to sit down, sighing as he relaxed. He stayed very close to Ryo, looking him over with a solemn expression. 

"Not gonna tell me what you did, huh?"

Ryo turned his head away. 

Ren shook his head, "So damn stubborn..."

"You've said that three times..." Ryo groaned, adjusting his position to sit up a little better.

Ren caught his gaze with a scowl, "Well uh, it's _true_?" He lifted his knee, resting his arm on it to leisure as usual, "Man, you get yourself into even more trouble than I do."

"You? A thief?" Ryo squinted, pain still in his voice. 

"I may be a thief, but I ain't an idiot."

"You're calling _me_ an idiot..."

"After this? Hell yeah I'm callin you an idiot!" Ren began smirking and leaned forward a little, "Whatever you did, you must have been tryin' _way_ too hard." He waved his hand up dismissively, "Psh. Great job."

"Shut up..." Ryo's gaze cast down in shame, and he hissed at the pain in his stomach. 

Ren snickered, but slowly came to the realization that Ryo was actually upset with himself. Ren sighed and pushed his body up, manuvering his way over to sit next to Ryo against the mountain-like boulder. Ryo's eyes darted to him, red in the face when he realized they were sitting shoulder to shoulder... Ren didn't bother to look up at him. He sat with his knees up, hands dangling over them by their wrists.

Ren sighed, staring at his gloves. 

Ryo didn't realize he was staring, looking over Ren once, twice, thrice, only to be caught by Ren lifting his head to meet his eyes with a serious expression. 

"You are an idiot. Reckless." Ren stated firmly, "But I like that about you."

"Getting soft on me?" Ryo said with his typical teasing tone, a brow raising. 

Ren scowled, elbowing him in the arm playfully and cautiously, "I'm serious! Come on, man."

"I'm sorry." Ryo murmured, grimacing once again at the pain in his side, "I should really head back..."

Ren felt his heart sink, falling unsure that Ryo could even share the same sentiments. He shifted awkwardly and leaned in toward him once again, trying to gain some sort of hope. 

"I'll help you up." Ren whispered, "Don't whine about it though."

Ryo's eyes flickered down to Ren's smirk, and Ren took that as a good sign.

"I can... Handle myself..." Ryo's words were stilted, and he had to remember to breathe. 

"Yeah?" Ren moved quickly, setting up on his knees and grabbing the back of Ryo's head with a gentle pull toward himself, "I doubt it."

Ren pressed his lips to Ryo's, firm, but taking care not to push him... Though that didn't seem to matter, although Ryo was weak, he kissed back with what little energy he could spare. Neither of them were quite used to this level of a gentle touch. It was easy to hunger for more of such small, intimate gestures. 

Ren's hand had drawn smoothly over Ryo's neck, through his hair, and settled against his cheek - taking care not to press on the forming bruise. They both steadily deepened this kiss, breathing shallow and hard, but keeping a passionate, slow pace. It was quite different from their first, fast, feverish kiss. 

Ryo pulled away first, catching his shaking breath. He hissed when he breathed too deep, a painful sensation ransacking the nerves of his ribs. Ren sighed, keeping his hand on Ryo's cheek.

"Meet with me tomorrow morning." Ren ordered, keeping his eyes on Ryo's, "8:30, at the dock next to the ferry terminal. I'll be waiting."

Ryo's face scrunched into a scowl, "Ren-"

Ren only gave him a smirk before diving close to help him up. With several pained groans, Ren had helped Ryo stand again, and lingered close to make sure Ryo was going to stay standing. 

"You good?" Ren patted at Ryo's arms, dusting off his jacket.

"You said it's nothing, didn't you-" 

"I said you're gonna bruise, man..." He sighed, watching Ryo frown, "Yeah yeah, it's nothing. Come on, give me your arms."

"I can make it from here."

Ren raised a brow, stopping mid-lean, "Huh?"

Ryo started walking, attempting to keep a steady pace. Ren sighed and began to follow him, keeping an eye on his movements. This guy really hated the prospect of needing help, and it was really grinding Ren's gears. Whether he liked it or not, Ren was going to help him.

Once they made it around to the front of the hotel, Ren placed a hand on Ryo's shoulder, stopping him from going in right away. 

"Remember, tomorrow at 8:30." Ren stated. 

"Yeah yeah..." Ryo groaned.

Ren was about to touch his face again, attempting to say something that was rather unlike himself but - he hesitated. He glanced around, finding that people were, in fact, watching them. Cursing himself, Ren lowered his hand and clenched his fist, gaze downcast.

"Get some rest." Was all he could say before turning around and leaving in a hurry.

Ryo's return to the hotel was presented without fanfare, but rather, worry and sorrow. His guard was up far more than usual, emotionally, and he wasn't going to tell Shenhua about how Ren helped him... Let alone kissed him. She didn't need to know. 

Across the way, Ren was once again faced with his thoughts etched into the ceiling of the ferry terminal. Mindlessly, he flipped a coin in his hand, tossing it and catching it as an idle distraction. 

It was the same old thing, obsessing over the same few thoughts of treasure and Ryo. Ultimately, the question was... could he have both...? Could there be more to his dreams than money and power? The prospect of having it all was... Strange. He knew to expect less than he was after. Having a family, kids, and riches didn't sound like they fit together. At all. And it wasn't like he could marry him.

The coin dropped with a clatter onto the floor and Ren sat up suddenly, shaking his head to throw that thought out of his brain. Why would he even think about _that_!? He really wished he could scrub out his brain with some sort of metal brush right then.

He got up, quickly picked up his coin, and headed to the balcony. 

Looked like he wasn't going to be getting much sleep...

The next morning, Ryo was by the dock exactly when Ren told him to be. As the bottoms of his boots thudded against the wooden pier, Ryo turned to face him. 

Ren waved and gave him a small smirk, "Ready to hatch a plan?"

"Yeah." Ryo nodded, watching Ren as he sat down on a wooden crate, "I can't stop you from helping me, it seems."

"Nope." Ren clicked his tongue, eyeing Ryo as he also sat down a few feet away, "You're stuck with me, ya hear? At least until I get my cut."

"You can drop the act."

Ren felt his face instantly grow hot, and he stared up at Ryo, eyes wide and lips pressed together in a way that made Ryo smile a little in amusement. 

"It's not an act! Pshh..." Ren brushed him off with a gesture of his hand in the air, and looked away in a hurry. 

"Yeah, sure..." Ryo mumbled. 

"Whatever..." Ren hissed, looking out to the ocean and forcing a smirk despite his nerves burning. He changed the subject as usual, "You must have figured out where those Red Snakes were hiding. Look at you, finally proving useful." Ren forced himself to look at Ryo again, "You might wanna brush up on your fighting skills though."

Ryo looked to him, which caused Ren to look away as he wagged a finger at him.

"Still," Ren teased, "You did good, man."

Ryo glared, "I don't wanna hear it."

Ren shifted, fidgeting a little as he looked ahead again, "Leave the rest to me." 

Ryo turned his head away, hiding the fact that he so badly wanted to roll his eyes. This guy...

Ren seemed to know exactly what he was going to do, and told Ryo to meet him in the ferry terminal the moment he was ready to sneak in and fight the Red Snakes again. 

Ryo barely waited, really only watching Ren walk away before deciding to chase him down rather quickly. He was ready. 

The moment after they entered the hideout, Ryo was already full of regret. 

Ren grasped Ryo's shoulder with a short 'hey,' causing his heart to leap. He turned to Ren, seeming ready for more than what Ren actually grabbed him for. Ren walked past him, and began his performance.

"Hey, you punks! Show yourselves!" Ren shouted, chin high, adrenaline rushing. He was ready to bash the shit out of those who'd hurt Ryo, "I'll be fighting you this time!" He glanced around, waiting for some sign of enemies, "I'm not like the weakling you fought before!"

"Hey-" Ryo approached him, frowning, sounding genuinely hurt. 

Ren glanced back, mildly irritated. So he wouldn't accept compliments, but he'd accept falsely spoken insults? Jeeze...

The thief's attention was stolen by approaching thugs, and Ren's cocky demeanor grew, wrought with intimidation as well.

"Who the hell is this...?" One muttered, and other confused mumbles followed behind them.

Ren sneered, the image of all of these men taking on Ryo was really getting to him.

Snarling, he kicked down a metal torch and shouted, "Shut your traps!"

The tactic worked, scaring the crap out of a good few thugs... But it didn't hold them back any once they were told to attack.

"You shmucks!" Ren felt heightened, knowing this was going to be fun.

Ryo watched Ren as he stepped forward, and followed him in haste, lifting their fists in preparation for battle. Ren even released a smug scoff and gave them a smirk.

Fighting them off was a total breeze with the two of them. With a laugh and a final kick, Ren turned to Ryo and placed his hands on his hips, a smug grin on his face as he approached. 

"These guys are nothing!" Ren boistered, eyeing Ryo when he looked up at him, "How did you lose to them again?"

But while Ryo's eyes widened, Ren was too far into his teasing to actually notice that Ryo was pointing to danger behind him.

"Maybe you've lost your touch or something-"

"Hey-"

Ren realized almost too late that Ryo was trying to warn him, and as he turned, his smug expression turned into one of fear. He moved quickly, narrowly evading a pair of fists with a groan of surprise. 

This didn't stop Ren from being ready to square up. This must have been the guy that gave Ryo such trouble. Well, no offense to Ryo, but he wasn't about to be taken down so easily! 

Ren was too cocky, and struck the man's chest with all his might, to no avail... He tried again, and looked the man up and down when his hit was absorbed like nothing. A gut punch did nothing either. Ren's lips curled into a nervous smile.

"Who is this guy?" He stepped back, attempting to keep a strong aura, "He's a monster!"

Like an idiot, Ren attempted to kick the man's chest the same way he's one tried against Dou Niu - with the same outcome. His leg was grabbed, and without missing a beat, the man punched him square in the jaw. Ren groaned in pain, grabbing his face as he stumbled away to recoup. It didn't take him long to attempt throwing another punch - but he missed. The second was caught, his wrist being held tight and arm pulled in a way that hurt... And then he was shocked straight in the stomach. Whatever attempt he took to fight past it was thwarted but a knee into his abdomen. Dazed, Ren was thrown aside and he hit the ground, hard. 

Ryo was about ready to run to him, but he knew he couldn't, and locked eyes with their enemy. He had to defend himself. 

Ren could barely recoup from that, understanding exactly how much pain Ryo had to have been the day before. His stomach felt like it was going to implode. The shockwaves through he nerves were making it hard for him to look up, or even breathe. By the time he was able to move again, Ryo had just been kicked into a metal bar. The pained groan that Ryo released only fueled Ren's need to get his ass up off the floor. 

"There's no way-" Ren painfully admitted their defeat, "We can take this gorilla-"

He forced himself up, to his feet. Ryo was still struggling to even breathe again, bit that didn't stop Ren from grappling at him, one hand on his knee to support himself as he pulled Ryo up by his back. He ignored Ryo's cries of pain, bit still spared some comfort by keeping a gentle hand on his arm, and giving him a pat on the back. But it was also a command to get moving. 

Some how they were able to make it to the ferry terminal, and up the stairs - mostly because Ren kept pulling Ryo along. Ryo wasn't going to let Shenhua see him like this again anyway, it would worry her more than necessary...

It was best to stay with Ren for a while.

Ryo let out another pained groan half way up the stairs, and Ren haphazardly grabbed at him, almost falling but catching their balance by gripping the railing with one hand, his other arm around Ryo's waist. Ryo refused to look at him.

Ren sighed, "Come on. Don't be such a baby."

With that, Ryo tried to keep moving, feeling a little better with Ren supporting him. Unfortunately, at the top of the stairs, a sharp throb surged throughout Ryo's chest an abdomen, causing him to hiss and force all of his weight on Ren. 

Ren scolded, though he was worried, "Hey, hey! We're almost there, keep moving."

Ryo actually let out a small whine when Ren pulled him forward. Ren completely disregarded his own pain, forcing just a few more more supported steps. He let go once they were at the edge of the bed, and pushed Ryo down on his side to lay on the mattress. Ryo seemed both mildly shocked and relieved of some pain... But that shocked over-ruled that when Ren carelessly laid beside him, facing Ryo. 

Ryo slowly looked up at him, shallow breaths beginning to cross as their gazes locked for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

Ren said nothing, unable to do much more than comfort Ryo by placing a gentle hand on his cheek. This seized all of Ryo's attention, and there was some strange look of want that he gave Ren because of it.

Ren smirked a little, although weakly, "You can kiss me later."

Ryo grimaced, "I wasn't-"

"Yes you were." 

"N-no, I-"

Ren leaned in despite his muscles screaming him not to, catching Ryo's lips in a kiss that Ryo very quickly returned, although he couldn't move much. 

Ren broke the kiss far too soon, the smug smirk back on his face, "Man, I needed that."

Ryo huffed, eyes narrowing at that smirk of his, "_You_..."

"What?" Ren asked playfully.

"You're confusing." Ryo stated, "I don't know why I trust you."

Ren's smirk flashed into a scowl, "Hey, it's not my fault that guy was-"

"I'm not talking about that."

"Then what?"

"First," Ryo started, "You lie and say you're going to stay in Kowloon, and then, you follow me."

Ren scoffed, knowing there wasn't a way to run from this... Figuratively or literally, "Yeah but-"

"Then, after abruptly showing up, you treat me like crap. Like you don't care."

"You caught me off guard!"

"Did you think _any_ of this through?"

"We've been over this." Ren groaned, "I wrapped up a bunch of crap in Wan Chai and Kowloon and bolted here, alright?"

"You can't keep playing games."

"Well, I can." Ren scoffed, "I really can. I can do _anything_ I want at _any_ point, ain't nothin you can do to stop me."

"It's your stubbornness that keeps me from wanting to be with you..." He sighed, which warranted him a look of disappointed frustration from Ren.

Shifting uncomfortably to lay on his back, Ren no longer wanted to be so damn close to him, but he really couldn't get up yet, "Man... are you really doing this _right now_?"

"See?" Ryo groaned from another sharp pain, "No good ever comes from talking to you..."

Ren frowned again, glaring at Ryo from the corner of his eye. Ren reclined, hand on his own stomach, actually holding the pained area while pretending he wasn't hurting in any way. The silence was tense and awkward. Ryo kept his head down while Ren stared at the ceiling.

What was Ren supposed to say?

The thief sighed, deflecting, "Man... No wonder you've never had a girlfriend."

Ryo hissed, "Shut up."

"Or boyfriend." Ren snorted, "_You're_ confusing."

Ryo sneered, "Stop acting like I've had zero experience..." 

"Haven't you?"

"No." Ryo replied flatly.

Ren slowly turned his head to look at him, afraid to see that genuine expression of Ryo's. Oh no. 

"What?" Ren squinted, "With who?"

"You don't know him."

"I still wanna _know_?" Ren huffed.

Ryo sighed, "Guizhang, a friend of mine."

Ren knew that would be the answer, "What so... You like..." He kind of gestured with his free hand, "What do you mean by _experience_, man?"

Ryo grimaced a little, "_Not_ the kind you're thinking of."

Ren dropped tension in his muscles he didn't even know he had he been holding, but it caused a shockwave of pain that he had to endure. His voice was strained, "Then what are you on about?"

"I kissed him. Once." Ryo mumbled, eyes darting aside, "It's complicated."

"What's so damn complicated about it?" Ren groaned.

"He was supposed to come with me... To Hong Kong."

Ren was quiet, unable to look at him. He only gestured for him to continue and hurry up. 

Ryo sighed, "He and his father, Master Chen, helped me find where Lan Di was heading. Told me about the mirrors, and Lishao Tao."

"Aaaand how is this useful information to me? We were talkin about experience, man."

Ryo groaned quietly, "Sorry."

"Anyway... About that kiss..." Ren lead, sounding exasperated.

"We just fought around 70 men, the Mad Angels." 

Ren raised a brow at him, "70, huh? At once?" He mumbled under his breath, "_Heh. I have quite a bit to catch up to_..."

"Yeah. 70." Ryo mumbled, "But... The Mad Angels were nothing compared to the Heavens."

Ren smirked, feeling a jolt of pride, "Damn right."

Ryo continued, "Unfortunately, a few days later, as we were about to leave, that Chai dropped a beam on us, and broke Guizhang's leg. He couldn't come with me because of it."

Ren scoffed, "Threes a crowd anyway... assuming you would have even _needed_ me."

Ryo's eyes narrowed, "Is _that_ why you're so cold?"

"Eh?"

"You're scared."

"Am _not_."

"If you want to be with me, just say so." Ryo kept his gaze on Ren's face, even when Ren looked at him with a glare, "Can't you spare some honesty, for once?"

Ren released a heavy sigh before struggling to lay on his side again, his eyes on Ryo's once again. Ryo seemed to be waiting impatiently for an answer.

He couldn't just speak the words in the front of his mind, the ones that grew more and more prominent each day that passed, each time he saw Ryo. He dare not say it. 

"You know what I want." Ren stated.

"_Other_ than treasure...?"

"Yeah." Ren smirked, but it was bittersweet, "Maybe I don't know what the hell is going on my head, all I know is that I _do_ give a damn about you. But I ain't gonna change just cause _you_ don't like who I am."

"Who ever said I didn't like who you are?"

"Uh, _you_?" Ren scoffed, "I'm a bad person according to you. I don't give a crap that I'm a bad person. I'm just me. I know how to survive and I know what I want out of life. I know all that."

"No one knows everything." Ryo grunted, "What if you could do better?"

"What, like, _morally_?"

"Yeah..."

Ren's gaze lowered, but he looked back up with a scowl, "I don't want shit to get boring, man."

Ryo looked him over, "Doing what's right doesn't have to be boring."

"I've said it before, I ain't like you." He sneered, only to released the irritation with a sigh, "But... _Damn_... I have fun with you. That's that."

Ryo could only think of his phone conversation with Joy. This was more than just having fun and he knew it. Ren knew it. 

Ren's heart skipped, taken off guard by Ryo suddenly, but tenderly, taking his hand. They both fell silent. Maybe they weren't sure what they wanted with one another, but they knew that whatever they had now could be good, or great even. But they also acknowledged that they couldn't go too deep, not without pain, not without broken hearts. They were too different, weren't they...?

"Fun it is, then." Ryo eventually whispered.

Ren released a small frown of pain as he moved a little closer to him. He released Ryo's hand from his own, and watched his curious expression. Ren wrapped his arm around Ryo's side, resting it there and taking care not to hurt him. Ryo didn't complain, and close his eyes when Ren placed their foreheads up against one another. 

"Whatever this... god damn _mess_ is..." Ren mumbled, almost too quietly, as if speaking this way were a sin, "I need you, right now, alright...? It doesn't need some stupid lable."

Ryo's eyes fluttered open just a little, and he gave a small, affirming smile. Ren gave him a small smile back before shutting his own eyes, and allowing himself to rest. Ryo did the same, thankful for the quiet moment. 

The two hadn't realized that they'd fallen asleep until they were woken up by the sound of foot steps in the terminal floor below them. They couldn't exactly hurry, apart, though they both sat up in worry.   
Ryo sighed in relief when he realized no one was coming. He checked his watch. 

It was already 9pm. They'd slept for almost 12 hours. Ouch.

Luckily, both of them were feeling better, Although they were still quite stiff and weak. Ren figured stretching might solve this, but only gave some loud cracking sounds and a small groan from him.

"I need to head back..." Ryo murmured, slowly pushing himself up in order to stand. 

"Hey now," Ren got up, "At least let me walk you back."

Ryo turned to him, teasing, "Since when do you ask for permission to do things?"

"Shut up. I'm taking you." Ren spat in worry, folding his arms over his chest, "Don't want you _collapsing_ on your way back."

"I'll be fine."

Ren mocked him with a silly voice, which made Ryo roll his eyes and head toward the stairs.

"Hey-" Ren rushed forward, as much as he could for how crappy he felt, and took Ryo's hand. Ryo gave him a surprised look. 

"Ren..."

"Ryo." Ren grinned, taking pride in the fact that Ryo's face turned red, and his eyes widened, "Heh, not so fun when _you're_ the one blushing huh?"

"Shut up-" 

Ryo pulled away, which made Ren laugh as he followed him down the stairs. Ryo was still moving a bit stiff, and Ren made sure he was staying steady. The walk to the hotel didn't take long, obviously since it was just across the way. But there were a few members of the Red Snakes laughing and having a grand old time right next to the lucky hit stands. Ren abruptly yanked Ryo ahead the second they were spotted. 

"Hey!" One of the thugs shouts, immediately heading after them. 

"_Ren_-!" Ryo growled, not fond of being manhandled in such pain. It wouldn't have been the first time Ren grabbed his hand and ran with him, or vice versa.

Ren threw the door to the hotel open and pulled Ryo inside, both of them took a moment to shake it off and catch their breaths. 

Ren brushed it off, "Whew. That was a close one."

He heard Ryo's breath catch, and briefly glanced to him. It wasn't until he heard another voice that he realized why Ryo had froze. 

"Ryo?"

"Shenhua."

Ren gaped for a second, man, he'd only seen a glimpse of this chick before but damn she was effortlessly beautiful in full view. 

Wait a second...

Ren looked her over, still stuck in surprise, "Hooey. Who would have thought you hooked up with a **_girl_**."

Ryo glared at him for that enunciation, and Ren tossed him a snarky smirk. What? It wasn't as if he completely pushed him out of the closet.

"Ryo?" Shenhua spoke again, "Who is he?"

"Oh," Ryo was clearly a little annoyed, "This is Ren."

Ren scoffed, he didn't have to make it sound so unfortunate. He already knew what Ryo had told Shenhua about him, but hey, maybe he'd said better things since then?

"So," He grinned, "You already told her stories about me huh."

Ryo tossed him another glare.

Ren shifted, keeping his smug demeanor, and clearly insinuating more than when Shenhua was hearing from him, "That doesn't mean you can leave me in the dark! Where did you meet a girl like this?"

Out of nowhere, Ren felt a chill run up his spine, and a pair of eyes like daggers on him, "Hm-"

He turned his head toward Shenhua and took his focus off of Ryo. She had this look, like he either had a choice to shut up, or lose his head. See, when Ryo gave him his scary face, he just wanted to laugh, like looking at an angry kitten. But this girl... This girl was the real tiger here. 

He didn't wanna learn why.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Ryo's concerned voice, "What's the matter Ren?" 

"Uh..." Ren looked to him just to avoid seeing Shenhua's death stare, "Nevermind. It's none of my business." He felt his heart sink a little at Ryo's confused stare, "I'll... See you around."

Ren moved out quickly, not wanting to face his thoughts of Shenhua and Ryo's relationship, nor her wrath... Sadly, this left Ryo very confused and conflicted. Thankfully for him, Shenhua was none the wiser about their loss againt the Red Snakes, and told him to get some rest. 

Not too deep into the night... Neither Ren nor Ryo could sleep very well. While Ren had lingered out on the balcony to look over the harbor, without his jacket, Ryo had the same idea. The beat of the city had a slow rhythm so late at night. 

Ren hadn't noticed Ryo step outside, but, Ryo noticed Ren right away, nearly losing his breath at the sight of the man in the distance. He was close enough to appreciate, but too far to quell any desire - only fuel it. Ryo's heart had sped, unable to look away from the sight of Ren looking... Peaceful for once. 

Ren felt a presence, someone looking at him, and turned his head to find Ryo across the way. Ryo looked away the moment he was noticed, and Ren tossed him a smirk, although Ryo could barely see it when he glanced back to him again. 

Ren lingered for a moment, keeping their gazes locked... but he went inside soon after. Ryo released a small sigh and turned back to his room. 

Resting suddenly felt like an easier task.


	6. Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo reflects on his emotions and his time past with Guizhang, while Ren can't go a week without causing him some sort of trouble... even when he tries to fix things.
> 
> Ryo can't tell if he wants more of him, or less of him. One moment he believes Ren's meant to be there with him and the next, he's too distraught to remember why he wanted him around in the first place... 
> 
> (Past Guizhang/Ryo scene involved in this chapter. General fluff and angst, some mild suggestive themes, nothing heavy.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hrrrrrg I'm sorry this took a while to update, with the current state of life and personal trouble (including attempting to rewrite about half a million words of my original works in progress) along with brain fog of serious quantities, it's been difficult to get in the mood to write. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best, I'm hoping to make the next one more structured. I hope you enjoy regardless!
> 
> Here I wanted to highlight Ryo's concern over his orientation, love life, and past romantic experience and once again add more interaction with Ren in scenes, scenarios, or quests that I wished he'd butted into in III.

**Chapter 6, Luck**

A few days had passed since reaching their... _agreement_ of sorts. 

Ryo had rushed out of the hotel to get to Ren, knowing that he was waiting for him at the dock. Ma had shouted at him, causing him to stop in his tracks, and force Ryo to turn back and pay for his room before leaving. It was always difficult to catch him on mornings like this.

"Always in a damn hurry..." Ma muttered as Ryo counted out the correct amount for the room, focused on his wallet, "Whats got you so excited, huh?"

"Huh?" Ryo glanced up, still distracted by the numbers in his head. He gently set the money on the counter, watching Ma's wide mouth curl into a weird smirk. What was she talking about?

"_You_." She snickered, pulling the money toward herself to begin counting it as she spoke, "You're excited about something."

"Am I?" Ryo mumbled, confused by her observation. 

"Every other day, you run outta here like a stray cat caught in the rain!" She shoved the money into the til, and looked back up at him with a small laugh, "Always forget to pay me. What's so different about days like this, huh?"

Ryo could feel his face growing warmer... which made her smile grow wider as she placed his change down in front of him.

"Heh..." Ma snorted, leaning forward to place her elbow on the counter, "I've seen that face before."

Ryo's brows furrowed, "I never, uh..."

"Not on _you_, kid." She pointed a finger at him, and he released a grunt of confusion, "On _other_ men's faces. I know _exactly _what you're getting yourself into."

"I don't..." Ryo sighed, "I really should-"

Ma laughed once again, poking Ryo's chest before slamming her hand down on the counter, "That's the face of a boy in love!"

Ryo's face was really burning now, eyes set wide as he fumbled for words underneath hearing her laugh at his reaction, "I have to- I gotta go! Now. I'm leaving."

As Ryo turned on his heel to race out the door, Ma cried out, "Hang on, boy! You forgot your change!"

Ryo turned back around as quickly as possible, tripping over his own shoe only to catch himself on the counter. Ma continued her laughter, watching the boy furiously try to grab his change and try to rush out of there all at the same time. 

Eventually, he did make it to the dock... But not without some serious embarrassment and trying to goad himself into calming the Hell down.

He really, really, really never wanted to hear that again. He was so tired of people trying to guess his '_love life_...' or whatever it was.

But at least Ma was more observant than most other people he'd met that were trying to play match maker. Aside from Joy, no one else quite got where his mind was at - and what he was trying to escape constantly.

Putting a mental pin in that, Ryo was ready to talk to Ren. Mostly.

Though he couldn't quite look at him much... And he was still sort of distant while holding a conversation with him...

"You idiot!" Ren had slid toward him, body tense and brows knitting together as he leaned down to where Ryo was sitting, matching his eye-line, "You can still win even if you don't have enough Kung-fu!"

Ryo snapped out of his distant headspace. If Ren kept letting himself show too much intimacy in public, they may draw attention to themselves. Not only that, but he really wasn't used to Ren being encouraging - especially not so blatantly encouraging...

"Really...?" Ryo mumbled, watching Ren as he stood up and faced away from him again.

As the conversation continued, the answer to the real problem they were dealing with smacked Ryo right in the face. Asking for help at the dojos around Niaowu seemed like an obvious answer after that... But finding something useful, not as easy.

Once again he was on a wild duck chase to find some information. From one dojo to the next, then to a martial arts cafe - though that was put on hold from a brief interruption... Ren suddenly dragged him behind the golden goose. He'd grabbed him out of nowhere, tugging at his jacket, pinning him to the wall... All to steal a moment to kiss Ryo.

Breaking such a heated kiss just moments after Ren had started it seemed to throw Ryo off a little, though.

"What was that for?" 

Ren gave him a big grin before taking his hands away from Ryo's lower back, patting his shoulder and stepping away, "For good luck, or whatever."

Ryo scowled, "Luck for me or for you...?"

Ren walked backwards, throwing his hands up in a dramatic shrug, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out. Maybe. We'll see."

With a wink and a quick blast of a finger gun at Ryo, Ren spun on his heel to head back around the Golden Goose. Ryo sighed, assuming that this only had to do with Ren's gambling problem. He continued on, back to where he was before he was so rudely pulled away and thrown against a wall. He hoped to get back on track. 

Something about that kiss was sticking with him though, and taking a quick glance at Ren while passing the Golden Goose didn't help dull the feeling at all... it was no different from any other time they'd kissed. So why couldn't he think clearly whenever Ren caught his attention? 

To be fair, Ren wasn't the only person who had done this to him. Though thinking about Guizhang was painful, to say the least... Knowing his feelings couldn't be returned hurt more than he had anticipated.

Of course, he hadn't yet pieced that together with what he'd done to practically every girl he'd ever been friends with... Flew right over his head like a duck racing over a ramp. 

Although he knew Guizhang had his eyes on someone (he didn't know who, but he had a suspicion that it was Hisaka...) he was sure Guizhang had to feel something after the kiss they shared. Ryo knew he was obsessing, and that he really shouldn't focus on it all, but the memory played in the forefront of his mind and it sure didn't give a damn about his stoic reputation. It was going to make him stop on the stairs toward the cafe and stare off. He briefly and mindlessly touched his lips with the tips of his fingers. 

He vividly recalled the sunrise, and cold breeze of the harbor penetrating the high of adrenaline the two of them had been feeling. They'd reached the end of an almost fruitless endeavor, only able to go on a little more information than they'd had just hour before... Lan Di was on his way to a ship to China, and Ryo knew he would chase him there. He didn't know how long it would take, but he had to do it. He wasn't quite sure how until...

"I'll talk to my father..."

Ryo had turned, a pang of guilt bolted through his chest as he found Guizhang facing away. 

"I'll ask my father to... Help you out." Guizhang stated, keeping his attention away from Ryo.

Ryo fought back a frown. Guizhang had already done so much, and forgave him for his betrayal. He didn't find what he'd done forgivable... But he couldn't refuse someone's forgiveness as it was not a gift, but a responsibility to do better. And he couldn't refuse the shame and guilt either... It was a necessary reminder. But what had he done to deserve his help, let alone more of it?

"Really...?" Ryo muttered, turning to face Guizhang completely, but the sharp dressed man had already turned completely away, heading back toward the warehouses.

"Contact me later," Guizhang replied over his shoulder, barely sparing him a glance, "Okay?"

"Guizhang-"

Saying his name was the only thing that seemed to stop him. To get him to listen. Guizhang looked back over his shoulder at him.

"What?"

Ryo responded without hesitation, "Thank you."

"No..." Guizhang paused, "That's my line..."

There was a weight to his words that Ryo couldn't understand, nor could he know the source of. What did he mean? He had nothing to be thanked for - nothing that could be enough to undermine his gratitude toward Guizhang or Master Chen. How did he find himself being thanked? There was no repaying this, or showing how much it meant to him... Especially coming from someone he'd hurt, almost gotten killed even - someone he cared about. Someone he didn't deserve. 

And yet he felt a searing pain in his stomach, being torn in the same direction as Guizhang when the man walked away. How many people did he have to say goodbye to in order to achieve vengeance? In order to put his father at peace?

_Even reflecting on this memory so much later, he couldn't yet realize the irony of that thought. _

The suited man had only made it about two buildings down before Ryo started after him, rushing enough try and catch up to him, "Guizhang, wait-"

Guizhang stopped once more, half-turning on his heel this time to face him. The quizzical expression on his usually blank features was enough to make Ryo rush just a little more. Guizhang had said nothing as he waited for whatever it was Ryo wanted to say. His brows furrowed together slightly, eyeing Ryo as the young man stared at him with a determination that only confused him further. 

Ryo's heart was thrumming as fast as a hummingbird's, and he could feel heat rise up solely into his face. He breathing sped, only feeling more nervous as he stared at Guizhang's cool expression. There was no way for Ryo to say how he felt... Because he didn't quite understand it himself. Knowing that a very strong, kind, intelligent, and handsome man could actually care about him enough to forgive his harmful actions...? It was overwhelming. And still having that same man in front of him was even more so. 

He'd been staring too long. 

Although Guizhang opened his mouth to speak, whatever sarcastic remark was going to leave his lips was immediately torn away from him, and replaced by the clumsy aggression of Ryo's abrupt kiss. Ryo's hands had gripped Guizhang's upper arms, though his nerves barely allowed him to hold on. Guizhang didn't move, as he seemed quite shocked that this was happening at all. 

But Ryo seemed to be confident in his decision, and that was enough to relax Guizhang just a little, his shoulders loosening up as his hand snaked upward, resting on the back of Ryo's neck. That small gesture alone caused Ryo to lose what was left of his breath, and feeling Guizhang kiss back (in a far more dignified, less clumsy manner) only made him dizzy. The cold of the harbor couldn't touch him after that.

Guizhang pulled away first, but his hand lingered on the back of Ryo's neck, his gaze meeting the younger man's. Ryo was dazed to hell and back, but he knew that look wasn't a good one... 

Guizhang pursed his lips for a moment, taking a breath, his words deliberate and clear, "Don't do that again."

Ryo's heart had sank deeper than the sunlight being swallowed by the ocean, "Didn't plan to." He lied, voice as cold as ever.

"Hmm..." Guizhang grunted, slowly taking his hand away but with as much contact as possible, no amusement in his tone, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Ryo replied, still unable to cease the pounding thunder in his chest even as the suited man was yards away from him. 

Guizhang didn't look back. 

Yet, he'd still decided to go with him, didn't he? Right up until he couldn't... and Ryo blamed himself for that. Once again he begged the question: _How different would things be if Guizhang had come along? _

Towards the end of the memory playing out in his head, Ryo had slowly made his way to the Muren Café. He didn't approach the employees right away, but he should have, knowing he'd get caught in his thoughts again. 

But honestly, things would have been nice - but painful, emotionally. What was he supposed to do? Admit that he had feelings for a _man_? One _nearly twice his age_, no less? 

He turned and looked back up the stairs toward the Golden Goose, squinting in Ren's general direction, although he couldn't see him from there.

He wasn't sure he wanted to trade his time with Ren for time with Guizhang. He didn't know what the Hell he had with Ren exactly... But he didn't want to let it go. Friends, enemies, something more - deep in his gut he knew there was more to him and Ren, romantic or platonic, love or rivalry... There was a deep, clawing instinct the told him there was more to their story... He felt it with Shenhua too, in a different way, but just as prominent. 

This was right, in that moment. I felt right. He knew this was the way it was meant to be, just like he knew Ren would follow him, just like he felt like he'd known Shenhua far longer than he could comprehend - it was just right.

Ryo was pulled out of his existential crisis by the charismatic voice of the Cafe's employees approaching him. He felt himself blush, but quickly covered it up by asking about what he went there for in the first place. 

* * *

One thing lead to another, which lead to another, and eventually Ryo found himself unable to progress. How was he supposed to make 5000 yen - for a _single_ book, no less?

Ren was side eyeing him during one of their impromptu conversations inside the golden goose. How could Ryo be so lost on what to do? Obviously he wasn't as well-off as he'd initially believed. Who cared if it was expensive?

"I'll just steal what we need." Ren stated confidently, gaining a glare from one of the Golden Goose employees as well as Ryo.

"Don't!" Ryo sneered, grinding the idea into the ground with just one word.

Ren was mildly surprised, his heart nearly skipping at the intensity of Ryo's voice, "Tch..." He glanced away briefly, "Always the downer. Fine! Have it your way."

"That's more like it." Ryo was pleased, but clearly still irritated... Though the way he said it made Ren feel somewhat like a dog on a leash. 

Normally he would argue, but there was no use trying to amorally compel Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes over here anyway. Especially when he was so adamant about it. Gods how annoying... But there was something about the irritation that stuck with Ren for the moment. Maybe he should try-

'_It's your stubbornness that keeps me from wanting to be with you..._'

Ren tensed, clenching his fists in order to hold tightly onto his thread-thin restraint of frustration, those words kept ringing in his head, Ryo's voice clear as day. Don't bitch about it. For once. Just keep your mouth shut and do what he asked. It's not that damn hard to just stand still, Ren, just stay calm. Go with it.

But god he hated being told what to do. 

"So," He began through gritted teeth, "what, you're gonna try to raise all the money for that?"

"Maybe." Ryo mumbled, knowing there wasn't much of an option otherwise. 

"Eh." Ren grumbled, turning away from him, "Good luck with that?"

"You could _try_ to help, you know. How about carrying your own weight for a change?"

Ren glared, honestly just wanting out of the conversation to avoid doing something stupid to make Ryo dislike him even more and ruin everything, "Shut up! I'm doing my own thing, so buzz off. Besides, you've been getting along fine on your own haven't you? Can't do this _one_ little thing by yourself?"

Ryo scowled a little. Why did he even bother? He was getting real tired of wondering that, so he ignored Ren's passive-aggressive attempt to rile him up, "I've heard of a few ways I can make money. But it might take some time. I did hear about some fortune teller that may be able to help..."

"Hmph." Ren shrugged, but an idea struck him, making him smirk at Ryo with a little malice, "If you're outta cash I could give you a little loan?"

Ryo felt a build up of heat in his chest. The nerve of this asshole. How could he have been saying he was the right person to be around just a few hours ago? God, he felt like an idiot. No matter their relationship Ren was still a thief, through and through. 

"I'm not dumb enough to take money from you." Ryo scowled.

"Damn." Ren scoffed, placing his hands on his hips.

"Besides," Ryo grimaced, his head cocking to the side as he eyed Ren, "You owe me 270 yuan."

Ren froze, blinking a few times as his brain tried to process that accusation, "Excuse m-"

"You thought I wouldn't notice...?" Ryo lowered his head a little, his gaze turning more into another glare as his voice lowered a little, "The money from pawning the vase."

Ren, a little flustered, chuckled and lifted his hands up in exasperation, "Right, riiiight. I'm a thief, so I'm like, the _only_ person who could ever steal from you, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" Ryo was clearly unamused, "I know it was you. Without a doubt."

Ren scoffed, shaking his head, "Whatever man."

Ryo sighed, he should have known Ren would keep up his tirade of lies, "Yeah. Whatever." 

Ren frowned upon seeing Ryo turn away, and stopped him with a cold tone, "When's the last time you looked in your wallet?"

"What?" Ryo looked back at him over his shoulder, "I know how much I have."

"Just answer the damn question!" Ren growled.

Ryo was hesitant. He was used to Ren being aggressive, but he wasn't so used to the desperation behind Ren's expression, "This morning, after paying for my room at the hotel."

Ren snorted bitterly, beginning to storm past him as he left him with a dry statement, "Ha. Shame, really."

Ryo watched him leave. What the hell was that about? Why did it matter when he last checked his wallet? Just to make sure he was right, Ryo took his wallet out and immediately began counting the money he had.

There was 540 yuan more than he had that morning... Double what Ren had taken from him. 

The kiss from that afternoon. That must have been when Ren slipped the money into his wallet. He didn't even notice... Had Ren won a decent bet with the money he'd taken from him? Did he... Feel remorse over taking it? 

Ryo frowned at the realization. He never had actually planned to bring it up, but he did, and now he felt Iike an ass because of it. 

* * *

Between trying to figure out how to gain enough money for the bajiquan book and running around to help people, Ryo was able to keep busy, and had an excuse to avoid Ren... Again. Ren had been avoiding him too. This seemed to be becoming a typical thing for them...

Last he saw Ren was by the dock, buying fruit... but Ryo made sure not to be spotted by him. Instead, he slid into the promenade and into the only place he could keep himself a bit hidden, at least behind one of the entry walls. But he was caught off guard by a voice behind him.

"Welcome! For ten yuan, I can tell you which number will bring you great fortune!" 

Ryo had turned to the woman, eyeing her in confusion. Was this the fortune teller he'd been looking for? 

"Um..." Ryo hesitantly approached, "my lucky number, eh...?"

"Precisely! For 10 yuan!" She grinned, "You do, don't you?"

Ryo hesitated. It wasn't much of a risk for 10 yuan, so he might as well try it, "Sure. I'll do it."

Just after Ryo paid the fortune teller, she cheered, "Very well! I shall now divine your lucky number!"

Ryo shifted his weight, watching her stare intently at nothing for a moment and claim that she could see it getting clearer. 

"Your lucky number is... Two!" She exclaimed with confidence.

"I see..." Ryo mumbled, wondering what he could even do with that information besides gamble, "Thanks."

"This number shall bring you great-" she froze before gasping, confusing the absolute crap out of Ryo, and making him mildly concerned, "What's this...?"

Ryo glanced behind him, then back to the fortune teller. What was she on about?

"This is-" she looked straight up at him, catching his eye, which made him tense up a little, "What an auspicious omen! The good fortune within you is remarkable!"

"Huh?"

Now, Ryo hadn't quite perfected language in any form, but he wasn't sure 'omen' could be used so positively. But he was probably wrong. Point was, she was on to something and he was curious. 

"Want me to look deeper?" She asked with a creak in her voice.

"Please do..."

Somehow, he ended up being told that he would find a 'greatly fortuitous omen' in New Paradise. Wasn't the Golden Goose in that area? Perhaps it did mean something, not that she could give him much detail aside from that...

Without overthinking it, Ryo did head to New Paradise...

"Hey you!"

"Huh?" Ryo turned on his heel, facing the ice cream parlor.

The Golden Goose was just ahead, but someone tried to call for his attention. Who and why? What could this be about? Did Ren do something and drag him into it?

There were two bored looking men sitting at a table in the ice cream parlor, eyeing him for no good reason. One wore a tan jacket, and the other wore sunglasses.

Great, judging by their expectations, he knew where this was heading already. 

"My boss is askin', answer him!" One of them growled. Ryo had no idea what they were on about.

"It's you! You're the Japanese guy staying at Hotel Niaowu..." The 'Boss' snapped, glaring at Ryo.

"That's right." Ryo confirmed, curious as to where this was going. 

"I knew it. That's the guy boss!" The man in the tan jacket literally just repeated what Ryo already confirmed.

"Do you have some business with me?" Ryo grimaced, already growing bored.

The Boss sneered, "Some business...? You punk! Struttin around flauntin your little girlfriend."

The other guy nearly whined, "I'm jealous... I- I mean," he growled, "get off your high horse!"

The Boss jeered at Ryo, "What, are you on your honey moon? This punk..."

Ryo sighed, "What are you talking about?"

The subordinate hissed, "Shut up! The boss hasn't even had a girlfriend! Hanghua and Maojia both turned him down-"

The boss glared at his subordinate, clearly the pain from those rejections lingered, "Huuuurhg...."

"Is that right...?" Ryo didn't really care.

"You jerk... I can't stand that smug look. Running around with your little girlfriend...!" The Boss shouted.

Ryo frowned, "Shenhua and I aren't-"  
"Did you hear that, boss? He said 'Shenhua and I!'"

"I won't allow it-" 

As the two began to stand, Ryo knew he was in for a fight - he wasn't quite sure why. He groaned to himself, "What is wrong with you...?"

As the men approached, aggressive and clear in their despite to fight, Ryo clenched his fists, about to get into position to defend himself when he heard a familiar voice shout from down the way. The two men stopped when Ryo looked to the side, watching Ren as he rushed up to the situation. Was he there to help?

Nope.

"There you are-" Ren grumbled, approaching quickly.

Without warning, Ren took Ryo's hand to try and pull him away, not paying any mind to the men now gawking at the two of them in bewilderment. 

"Hey-" Ryo whispered as he moved back into place, pulling his hand out of Ren's grasp.

Ren scowled, "Hey, don't be stubborn!" Ren grabbed his hand again and pulled at him, and patted Ryo's face with his other hand for a second, "We gotta talk."

"What- _right now_?"

"Uh, yeah, _right now_, you don't look very busy! You're in an ice cream shop!" Ren scoffed, and instead of making Ryo budge any, he had only ended up pulling him close, still completely oblivious to the two men staring at them - of whom were unsure what to make of Ren standing with his face so intimately close to Ryo's with their hands intertwined, "We can get ice cream and talk if you're so damn adamant about that, it's not like you have to get it here. But we do have to talk-"

"Ren-" Ryo hissed.

"Yeah, I know, we haven't talked in like three days but that's changing now so hurry up-"

"_Ren_-"

"What, do you want me to _carry_ you!? Come on! There's an ice cream parlor down the road that's a lot quieter, stop causing trouble for me, man-"

"_Ren_!" Ryo nearly shouted.

"_What_!?"

Ren stopped, allowing his environment to sink in. He still had one hand holding Ryo's, and the other was gripping Ryo's upper arm. Once he felt eyes on them, that was when he finally looked over... and was surprised to see the two men staring at them with unreadable yet austere expressions. Ren swallowed the dryness in his throat before cautiously, slowly letting go of Ryo. Both of them knew what kind of problem this could cause. A conflict they never hoped to face.

Ren chuckled nervously, "What? Never seen two guys touch before? Mind your business."

The boss scowled, shaking his head slowly, "_T-that's_..."

"This guy-" The other man shook his head, "Can you believe this, boss!?"

Ren put his hands up, "Hey, I think you've got this all wrong-"

Ryo whispered through gritted teeth, "_Don't_. You'll make it worse."

Ren whispered back harshly, glaring at Ryo, "What, you wanna fight them? I'm starting to think you have a damn fetish for pain here."

Ryo sneered, "You're kidding right?"

Ren almost responded, but the 'Boss' ended up speaking over him.

"This little punk has both a girlfriend _and_ a boyfriend!" 

"The god damn nerve of this guy! I can't even get a date and he's playing **both** fields with ease!?"

Ren didn't expect them to go that route, especially with how this type of situation would usually go, "Eh?"

Ryo felt his face light up with heat immediately, barely able to see straight, "N-no, wait- you think I have- he's-"

Ren had to take a second to gather what was happening, "Uh, you have a _what_ now?"

Ryo shook his head, "No, that's not- he's not my- she's not- I don't have - wait... He really isn't-"

Ren's sharp brows raised at his flustered mess of a 'companion,' "I'm not _what_? Say it." 

Ryo didn't want to respond to that, and pursed his lips tightly, scowling.

Ren stared at him for a moment. That adamant denial was... _juuuust_ a little bit painful. So he scoffed, giving a wry smirk and looking over to the two men.

"Alright, ya twits, if you're looking for a fight..." He snickered, cracking his knuckles with a press of one hand, then the other and lifting his fists, "you've got one."

Ryo was caught off guard, but moved into the proper defensive position once he realized Ren was ready to fight these assholes. The 'Boss' hopped forward with poor form, and Ryo knew exactly how to react to the upcoming punch... If only Ren hadn't pushed him out of nowhere. Ryo hissed at the fist meeting with his jaw, although it wasn't that painful, he was more pissed about the unexpected shock than anything- and fell against the wall. The subordinate rushed after Ren, attempting to throw a punch and completely failing to even get near him, as Ren had no problems side stepping such bad aim. Ryo easily moved out of the way of another punch, before tripping the 'Boss' with an easy kick to the shin. The 'Boss' tripped down the stairs, falling flat into the bricks and causing a nose bleed... And some cursing. 

Ren seemed to be amused by how easily he could evade his opponent, and just kept dodging his attacks with a small smirk on his face... Right up until Ryo came up and kicked the offender in the side. The man cried out after his fall, grabbing his side in pain. Ryo had effectively ruined Ren's fun, but that was clearly the intention.

Ren snorted as he looked up to Ryo, watching him come closer in what maybe have been fury or something like it, "Well that was quick-" Ren swallowed a yelp when Ryo grabbed the collar of Ren's jacket, and yanked him away from the ice cream parlor, leaving behind the two men groaning in pain.

"Hey!" Ren growled, easily breaking out of Ryo's grasp. 

Ryo didn't accept this, so he turned to him and grabbed his collar again, this time pressing him up against the nearest wall that wasn't in plain sight. 

Ren caught his breath, forcing past the initial surprise of Ryo's aggression... but Ren smirked, remembering a similar predicament they were in just a few weeks ago. 

"Hmph." Ren's eyes roamed over Ryo's face, anger taking over his pretty features, "What now?"

"Shut up." Ryo growled, "Why did you push me?"

Ren pulled a face, confused, "What? Those guys were morons, I was just trying to spice things up!"

"One day you're going to get us killed."

Ren rolled his eyes, "Yeah, doubt that. You need to chill, man-"

"_I_ need to-" Ryo sneered, gripping tighter onto Ren's collar, "_Why_ are you like this?"

Ren paused, hesitant, "Like... What?"

Ryo sighed, "Nevermind."

"Oh, of course you can't say it now." Ren hissed, "Geeze. Have some damn conviction!"

"What?"

"Stop pretending you've got nothing to say at the last second! Damn it, follow through for once! You pin me to a wall to yell and me and ya can't even tell me off! You..." He snorted, slowing down his words, "Huh. Every time you've got me pinned down, you don't do _crap_. Do I scare you or something?"

Ryo sneered, "You've never scared me."

"You won't hurt me unless I make you, you won't kiss me unless I tease you-" he shook his head, his shoulders dropping as he eyed Ryo's increasingly enraged expression and listened to his heavy breathing, "Damn... Do you really think you'll have the guts to kill Lan Di when you've finally got him knocked down?"

Ryo's breaths had become shallow and ragged, locking eyes with Ren. What was he supposed to say to that? Or do now? He was essentially telling him he wouldn't follow through with his plans for revenge, or anything at all. He'd made it all the way to god damn Niaowu, who was to say he wouldn't commit, or hasn't followed through?

"You don't know that." Ryo mumbled, the fire in him quickly turning into remnants of ash.

Ren huffed, rolling his eyes, "Yeah. Sure." he placed a hand on Ryo's chest, trying to push him back, "Anyway, I was gonna apologize for the money thing or whatever, not that it matters now- damn it - would you _move_?"

Ryo did not move, in fact, he pushed Ren back into the wall, causing the older man to sigh. 

"I get it." Ren groaned, "You're pissed off, I get it. But holding me here ain't gonna solve any of your damn problems." 

"I didn't ask for your criticism."

"Well _that_ ain't a criticism-"

"You **_know_** what I mean."

Ren snorted, "Do something if you're so mad about it."

"I'm already trying to find Lan Di."

That wasn't quite what he was talking about.

"Mhm. And what about _us_? What about your _girlfriend_?" Ren mocked.

"She is **_not_** my girlfriend!" Ryo groaned in dismay, shaking Ren a little bit.

"Then _why_ can't you tell people that!"

"Because I don't like to discourage people for nothing."

"Except me."

Ryo paused, "What...?"

"You have no problem arguing with me, telling me no," Ren grimaced, "what's that about? You're ready to blow me off at any second, but you always come back around to be with me and I can't help but do the same goddamn thing. What's so damn complicated about wanting to be near someone? Why is it _wrong_ for us to do that? To be close or whatever? This is so _stupid_..."

Ryo was quiet for a moment, really pondering why it could be that he was far less afraid of being himself around Ren... And yet also held himself back. He did not fear being himself - he feared the fact that Ren brought it out in him so easily. He never really argued with Shenhua, but it was never necessary. Ren was... Every part of himself he tried to resist. Everything he was meant to resist. Everything he'd been scolded for being, or wanting. Everything he was... _Scared_ to be. Scared to have. Arguing with Ren was like arguing with a part of himself but- Ren was also someone else entirely. 

Just like Guizhang, he was everything Ryo wished he could be, and everything he admired... But what also what everyone else wanted him to be.

Ren sighed at Ryo's silence, finally able to make some room for himself by pushing Ryo's arms aside. He wasn't sure what to make of this either. It was a continuing cycle of denial and desire, and he hated it just as much as Ryo did.

"Come on." Ren quickly changed the direction of their interaction, "Let's go make that 5000 yuan."

Ryo was silent, but allowed Ren to pull him away from where they were by his wrist. Ryo couldn't find anything to say as Ren lead him to the Golden Goose, and Ren honestly didn't want him to say anything... The only thing he had initially wanted was to apologize to the best of his ability and have some damn fun, but _no_... 

Whatever, the night was still young, he could try to do something, right? 

Ryo hadn't been paying attention, but when Ren snapped his fingers in front of his face, Ryo realized they were standing in front of the lucky hit boards. Ren was staring at one with a face on it, honestly wondering who the heck these people were and why they were even on the lucky hit boards in the first place.

"Lucky hit, huh...?" Ryo mumbled, not to anyone in particular, as Ren was already paying for a high betting round of the gambling game. 

Ren tossed the ball up before catching it with ease and smirking at Ryo, "Wanna go first?"

"No, I'm good..." Ryo mumbled, barely able to look at him.

Ren huffed and stepped up to the board furthest down, "Suit yourself..."

Ryo watched the small metal ball as it dropped from Ren's hand into the nails of the board. Ren's face scrunched into a very intense glare, watching every tiny moved the ball made as it cascaded down. Ryo gave Ren a strange look, as the thief had began making a strange, strained groan as the ball went down. He only stopped to cheer when it hit the red circle at the bottom of the board. 

Ryo nodded once, "Good. Now do it again."

Ren growled, elbowing Ryo's arm twice playfully, "I know what to do!"

Ryo only fixed the sleeve of his jacket, looking back to the lucky hit board as Ren positioned the ball again.

Perhaps... a "_fortuitous omen_" was the only way to describe their luck.


End file.
